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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.12.07.414599

Association of CD44-/CD24- Breast Cancer Cells with Late Stage Tumor Recurrence

Liu, C.·Qiao, X.·Zhang, Y.·Sun, L.·Ma, Q.·Yang, J.·Ai, L.·Xue, J.·Chen, G.·Zhang, H.·Ji, C.·Gu, X.·Lei, H.·Yang, Y.
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Abstract

Tumor metastasis remains the main cause of breast cancer-related deaths, especially the later breast cancer distant metastasis. This study assessed CD44-/CD24- tumor cells in 576 tissue specimens for associations with clinicopathological features and metastasis and then investigated the underlying molecular events. The data showed that level of CD44-/CD24- cells was associated with later postoperative distant tumor metastasis. Furthermore, CD44-/CD24- triple negative cells could spontaneously convert into CD44+/CD24- cancer stem cells (CSCs) with properties similar to CD44+/CD24- CSCs from parental MDA-MB-231 cells in terms of gene expression, tumor cell xenograft formation, and lung metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Single-cell RNA sequencing identified RHBDL2 as a regulator that enhanced spontaneous CD44+/CD24- CSC conversion, whereas knockdown of RHBDL2 expression inhibited YAP/NF-{kappa}B signaling and blocked spontaneous CD44-/CD24- cell conversion to CSCs. These data suggested that the level of CD44-/CD24- tumor cells could predict breast cancer prognosis, metastasis, and response to adjuvant therapy.

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Liu, C., Qiao, X., Zhang, Y., Sun, L., Ma, Q., Yang, J., Ai, L., Xue, J., Chen, G., Zhang, H., Ji, C., Gu, X., Lei, H., Yang, Y.. 2020-12-07. Association of CD44-/CD24- Breast Cancer Cells with Late Stage Tumor Recurrence. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.07.414599

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