ArticleBMC cancer2019
Sphere-forming culture enriches liver cancer stem cells and reveals Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 as a potential therapeutic target.
Article in BMC cancer, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stroma-oriented tumor microenvironment facilitates intraosseous ameloblastoma tumor growth.iScience · 2026Article
- Lipid desaturation and cellular viability: mechanisms, stem cell insights, and a desaturation window model.Journal of lipid research · 2026Review
- The metabolic profiles of cancer stem cells.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Review
- Review
- From 2D to 3D and beyond: the evolution and impact of in vitro tumor models in cancer research.Nature methods · 2025Review
- Cancer stem cells in personalized therapy: mechanisms, microenvironment crosstalk, and therapeutic vulnerabilities.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Calpain 2 promotes Lenvatinib resistance and cancer stem cell traits via both proteolysis-dependent and independent approach in hepatocellular carcinoma.Molecular biomedicine · 2024Article
- AQSA-Algorithm for Automatic Quantification of Spheres Derived from Cancer Cells in Microfluidic Devices.Journal of imaging · 2024Article
- Targeting Lipid Metabolism in Cancer Stem Cells for Anticancer Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Cancer stem cells: advances in knowledge and implications for cancer therapy.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- DNMT1/miR-152-3p/SOS1 signaling axis promotes self-renewal and tumor growth of cancer stem-like cells derived from non-small cell lung cancer.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Article
- Dynamic interplay of nuclear receptors in tumor cell plasticity and drug resistance: Shifting gears in malignant transformations and applications in cancer therapeutics.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2024Review
- Cardiometabolic risk factors in MASLD patients with HCC: the other side of the coin.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Lipid metabolism dynamics in cancer stem cells: potential targets for cancers.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Combined Inhibition ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Cell Culture Model Evolution and Its Impact on Improving Therapy Efficiency in Lung Cancer.Cancers · 2023Review
- SCARB2 drives hepatocellular carcinoma tumor initiating cells via enhanced MYC transcriptional activity.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Article
- Patient-derived zebrafish xenografts of uveal melanoma reveal ferroptosis as a drug target.Cell death discovery · 2023Article
- Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase 1 as a Therapeutic Biomarker: Focusing on Cancer Stem Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundsThe role of sphere-forming culture in enriching subpopulations with stem-cell properties in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. The present study investigates its value in enriching cancer stem cells (CSCs) subpopulations and the mechanism by which HCC CSCs are maintained.
methodsHCC cell lines and fresh primary tumor cells were cultured in serum-free and ultra-low attachment conditions to allow formation of HCC spheres. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate CSC characteristics. Expression levels of CSC-related genes were assessed by qRT-PCR and the correlation between sphere formation and clinical characteristics was investigated. Finally, gene expression profiling was performed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying HCC CSC maintenance.
resultsWe found that both cell lines and primary tumor cells formed spheres. HCC spheres possessed the capacity for self-renewal, proliferation, drug resistance, and contained different subpopulations of CSCs. Of interest, 500 sphere-forming Huh7 cells or 200 primary tumor cells could generate tumors in immunodeficient animals. Sphere formation correlated with size, multiple tumors, satellite lesions, and advanced stage. Further investigation identified that the PPARα-SCD1 axis plays an important role in maintenance of the CSC properties of HCC sphere cells by promoting nuclear accumulation of β-Catenin. Inhibition of SCD1 interfered with sphere formation, down-regulated expression of CSC-related markers, and reduced β-Catenin nuclear accumulation.
conclusionsSphere-forming culture can effectively enrich subpopulations with stem-cell properties, which are maintained through activation of the PPARα-SCD1 axis. Therefore, we suggest that targeting the SCD1-related CSC machinery might provide a novel insight into HCC treatment.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.