B7H1 Expression and Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition Phenotypes on Colorectal Cancer Stem-Like Cells

• Published in: PloS one 2015-08, Vol.10 (8), p.e0135528-e0135528
• Main Authors: Zhi, Yidan, Mou, Zhirong, Chen, Jun, He, Yujun, Dong, Hui, Fu, Xiaolan, Wu, Yuzhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Animals; B7-H1 Antigen - genetics; B7-H1 Antigen - metabolism; Biomarkers; Blotting, Western; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics; Colorectal Neoplasms - metabolism; Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology; E-cadherin; EMT gene; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Female; Fibronectin; Fibronectins; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Humans; Immunology; Immunosurveillance; Intermediate filament proteins; Laboratory animals; Lymphocytes; Male; Mesenchyme; Metastases; Metastasis; Mice; Mice, Inbred NOD; Mice, SCID; Middle Aged; Molecular chains; Neoplastic Stem Cells - metabolism; Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology; Oct-4 protein; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Prognosis; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Transcription factors; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor Stem Cell Assay; Tumors; Vimentin; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135528

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) can invade and metastasize by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, how they escape immune surveillance is unclear. B7H1 is crucial negative co-stimulatory molecule but little information about whether it works in CSCs. Therefore, we determined the expression of B7H1 and EMT-associated markers in colorectal cancer stem-like cells to investigate a possible immunoevasion way of CSCs. We enriched CD133+ colorectal cancer cells which manifested the CSCs-like properties such as higher levels of other stem cell markers Oct-4 and Sox-2, tumor sphere forming ability and more tumorigenic in NOD/SCID mice. These CD133+ cells possess EMT gene expression profile including higher level of Snail, Twist, vimentin, fibronectin and lower level of E-cadherin. Moreover, CD133+ cells in both cell line and colorectal cancer tissues expressed high level of negative co-stimulate molecule B7H1. Furthermore, some B7H1+ cancer cells also showed the characteristic of EMT, indicating EMT cells could escape immune attack during metastasis. B7H1 expression and EMT phenotypes on CSCs indicates a possible immunoevasion way.