Characterization of subpopulation lacking both B-cell and plasma cell markers in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia cell line.

Cancer cells with tumorigenic potential are limited to a small population known as cancer-initiating cells (CICs). To date, CICs have not been identified in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Here, we investigated a candidate of CICs of an indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM), using WM cell line MWCL-1. WM tumor expresses both B-cell and plasma cell markers, CD20 and CD138. When stained with anti-CD20 and anti-CD138 antibodies, MWCL-1 cells were classified into three subpopulations: CD20⁻ CD138⁻, CD20⁺ CD138⁻, and CD20⁺ CD138⁺. When cultured, CD20⁻ CD138⁻ cells yielded all three subpopulations, but CD20⁺ cells did not yield CD20⁻ CD138⁻ cells. Higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) expelling and in vitro colony formation activities were detected in CD20⁻ CD138⁻ cells than in CD20⁺ CD138⁻ and CD20⁺ CD138⁺ cells. When cultured in the absence of serum or with anti-cancer drug, CD20⁻ CD138⁻ cells were resistant to apoptosis. In contrast, CD20⁺ CD138⁺ cells were vulnerable to apoptosis in the same condition. In fact, the immunohistochemical analysis with clinical samples revealed that tumor cells in apoptosis were CD138-positive. The production of all three subpopulations, the efficient ROS expelling and in vitro colony-forming activities, and the resistance to apoptosis suggested that the CD20⁻ CD138⁻ cell might be a candidate of CICs in WM.