The SW480 cell line as a model of resident and migrating colon cancer stem cells

Mathijs P. Verhagen, Tong Xu, Roberto Stabile, Rosalie Joosten, Francesco A. Tucci, Martin van Royen, Marco Trerotola, Saverio Alberti, Andrea Sacchetti, Riccardo Fodde*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
53 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Intra-tumor heterogeneity, i.e., the presence of diverse cell types and subpopulations within tumors, presents a significant obstacle in cancer treatment due to its negative consequences for resistance to therapy and disease recurrence. However, the mechanisms that underlie intra-tumor heterogeneity and result in the plethora of different cancer cells within a single lesion remain poorly understood. Here, we leverage the SW480 cell line as a model system to investigate the molecular and functional diversity of colon cancer cells. Through a combination of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis and transcriptomic profiling, we identified three distinct subpopulations, namely resident cancer stem cells (rCSCs), migratory CSCs (mCSCs), and high-relapse cells (HRCs). These subpopulations show varying Wnt signaling levels and gene expression profiles mirroring their stem-like and functional properties. Examination of publicly available spatial transcriptomic data confirms the presence of these subpopulations in patient-derived cancers and reveals their distinct spatial distribution relative to the tumor microenvironment.

Original languageEnglish
Article number110658
JournaliScience
Volume27
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Sept 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The SW480 cell line as a model of resident and migrating colon cancer stem cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this