Xenografts in zebrafish embryos as a rapid functional assay for breast cancer stem-like cell identification

The cancer stem cell is defined by its capacity to self-renew, the potential to differentiate into all cells of the tumor and the ability to proliferate and drive the expansion of the tumor. Thus, targeting these cells may provide novel anti-cancer treatment strategies. Breast cancer stem cells have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) Tex.), 2011-11, Vol.10 (21), p.3751-3757
Main Authors: Eguiara, Arrate, Holgado, Olaia, Beloqui, Izaskun, Abalde, Leire, Sanchez, Yolanda, Callol, Carles, Martin, Angel G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Binding
Biology
Bioscience
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Calcium
Cancer
Cell
Cell Line, Tumor
Cell Movement - drug effects
Curcumin - pharmacology
Cycle
Embryo, Nonmammalian
Female
Humans
Landes
Neoplastic Stem Cells - drug effects
Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology
Organogenesis
Proteins
Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays - methods
Zebrafish - embryology
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Summary:The cancer stem cell is defined by its capacity to self-renew, the potential to differentiate into all cells of the tumor and the ability to proliferate and drive the expansion of the tumor. Thus, targeting these cells may provide novel anti-cancer treatment strategies. Breast cancer stem cells have been isolated according to surface marker expression, ability to efflux fluorescent dyes, increased activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase or the capacity to form spheres in non-adherent culture conditions. In order to test novel drugs directed towards modulating self-renewal of cancer stem cells, rapid, easy and inexpensive assays must be developed. Using 2 days-post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish embryos as transplant recipients, we show that cells grown in mammospheres from breast carcinoma cell lines migrate to the tail of the embryo and form masses with a significantly higher frequency than parental monolayer populations. When stem-like self-renewal was targeted in the parental population by the use of the dietary supplement curcumin, cell migration and mass formation were reduced, indicating that these effects were associated with stem-like cell content. This is a proof of principle report that proposes a rapid and inexpensive assay to target in vivo cancer stem-like cells, which may be used to unravel basic cancer stem cell biology and for drug screening.
ISSN:1538-4101
1551-4005
DOI:10.4161/cc.10.21.17921