BACKGROUND EpCAM or CD133 has been used as the tumor initiating cells (TICs) marker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated whether cells expressing with both EpCAM and CD133 surface marker were more representative for TICs in hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 cells. METHODS Four different phenotypes of CD133(+)EpCAM(+), CD133(+)EpCAM(-), CD133(-)EpCAM(+) and CD133(-)EpCAM(-) in Huh7 c...

BACKGROUND In laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), CD133+ cells were found to display cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristics. BMI1 is an oncogene that plays key roles in proliferation in CSCs. However, no published reports have examined the role of BMI1 in laryngeal CSCs. METHODS Immunofluorescence staining confirmed the coexpression of BMI1 and CD133. After sorting, real-time polymerase ...

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) form a very rare population within tumors and possess the ability to proliferate and self-renew indefinitely. The cluster of differentiation (CD) 133+ ovarian CSCs (OCSCs) have been identified recently and their clinical implications are about to be clarified. In this context, we use the CD133 antigen as a marker of OCSCs in OVCAR3 cells and show that microRNAs (miRNAs)...

The majority of tumors, including melanoma, are phenotypically heterogeneous in that they contain various cell populations with differential expression of cell surface antigens such as CD133/Prominin-1. We have used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technology to purify CD133(+) and CD133(-) cellular subsets from mouse melanoma models for high-quality total RNA practical for downstream...

BACKGROUND Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most lethal human malignancies. Its rapid onset and resistance to conventional therapeutics contribute to a mean survival of six months after diagnosis and make the identification of thyroid-cancer-initiating cells increasingly important. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In prior studies of ATC cell lines, CD133(+) cells exhibited stem-ce...

The stem cell marker CD133/prominin-1, is a pentaspan membrane glycoprotein, which has also been identified as a cancer stem cell (CSC) marker in several solid tumor types, including those of the prostate, liver, colon and brain. The function of CD133 in these tumors is still unknown. We hypothesize that the function of CD133 is correlated with the characteristics of the CD133+ CSCs and may aff...

BACKGROUND An increasing number of evidence suggests that pancreatic cancer contains cancer stem cells (CSCs), which may be relevant to the resistance of chemotherapy. Latexin (Lxn) is a negative regulator of stem cell proliferation and we investigate the effects of Lxn on CD133+ pancreatic cancer stem-like cells. METHODS CD133+ miapaca-2 cells, a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line, were is...

BACKGROUND Recent data provide significant evidence to support the hypothesis that there are sub-populations of cells within solid tumors that have an increased tumor initiating potential relative to the total tumor population. CD133, a cell surface marker expressed on primitive cells of neural, hematopoietic, endothelial and epithelial lineages has been identified as a marker for tumor initiat...

PURPOSE Retinoblastoma (Rb) is an intraocular tumor that grows rapidly and poses a threat to sight and life. Similar to other tumors, there is increasing speculation that the Rb tumor also contains cancer stem-like cells that could influence the prognosis and response to therapy. This study was undertaken in an attempt to identify putative stem-like cells by characterizing different subpopulati...

BACKGROUND CD133 is a cell surface marker of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), sustains proliferation and not differentiation of embryonic stem cells. We used CD133 to purify adult human retinal cells and aimed to determine what effect LIF had on these cultures and whether they still had the ability to generate neurospheres. METHODS Retinal cell susp...