Abstract 3319: Characterization of the CD44+/CD49f+/CD24- subpopulation in basal-like DCIS cells

The molecular mechanisms responsible for Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)-Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) transition have yet to be elucidated. Due to the lack of molecularly targeted therapies, basal-like DCIS has a high risk of recurrence and progression to invasive and metastatic cancers. In this study, using a human DCIS cell line model and a novel single-cell clonogenic approach, we have identified and characterized the aggressive clones derived from single cells with the CD49f+/CD44+/CD24- surface markers. We found that aggressive clones had enhanced self-renewal, migratory and invasive capacities. The aggressive clones had elevated ALDH activity, lower global DNA methylation and increased expression of stem cell related genes including OCT4 and SOX2. Further mechanistic studies showed that linc-ROR and miR-10b were overexpressed in aggressive clones and are key regulators of their self-renewal and invasive abilities. Finally, we confirmed our in vitro results in vivo, demonstrating that aggressive clones were capable of forming tumors in nude mice, whereas non-aggressive clones were not. We believe that characterization of aggressive clones within the heterogeneous CD49f+/CD44+/CD24- DCIS population and having linc-ROR and miR10b as additional markers to distinguish them from non-aggressive clones would provide the basis to develop new chemoprevention agents. Citation Format: Nadire Duru, Ramkishore Gernapudi, Pang-Kuo Lo, Yuan Yao, Benjamin Wolfson, Yongshu Zhang, Qun Zhou. Characterization of the CD44+/CD49f+/CD24- subpopulation in basal-like DCIS cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3319.