Floating cells with stem cell properties in gastric cell line SGC-7901

Aims To obtain floating spheres from the adherent gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 and to analyze the properties of the spheres. Methods Serum-free medium was applied to cultured SGC-7901 cells. Limiting dilution assay, tumor formation assay, microarray analysis, and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR were used to test the stem cell properties of the spheres. Results A subpopulation of SGC-7901 cells formed floating spheres in serum-free medium. These cells showed enhanced tumorigenic ability and also highly expressed certain stem-cell-associated proteins. Conclusions We successfully propagated floating spheres with stem cell properties in the SGC-7901 gastric cell line.