CD133 expression is not selective for tumor-initiating or radioresistant cell populations in the CRC cell line HCT-116

Dittfeld, Claudia; Dietrich, Antje; Peickert, Susann; Hering, Sandra; Baumann, Michael; Grade, Marian; Ried, Thomas; Kunz-Schughart, Leoni A.

doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2009.10.010

« Previous Next »Radiotherapy & Oncology
Volume 94, Issue 3 , Pages 375-383, March 2010

CD133 expression is not selective for tumor-initiating or radioresistant cell populations in the CRC cell line HCT-116☆

Claudia Dittfeld
- Tumor Pathophysiology, OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
- Contributed equally.
Antje Dietrich
- Tumor Pathophysiology, OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
- Contributed equally.
Susann Peickert
- Tumor Pathophysiology, OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Sandra Hering
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Michael Baumann
- OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Dresden, Germany
Marian Grade
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Medicine Goettingen, Germany
Thomas Ried
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Leoni A. Kunz-Schughart
- Tumor Pathophysiology, OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
- Corresponding author. Address: OncoRay – Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, PF 86, 01307 Dresden, Germany.

published online 18 November 2009.

Abstract

Background and purpose

CD133 is controversially discussed as putative (surrogate) marker for cancer stem/tumor-initiating cell populations (CSC/TIC) in epithelial tumors including colorectal carcinomas (CRCs). We studied CD133 expression in established CRC cell lines and examined in vitro behavior, radioresponse and in vivo tumor formation of CD133^+/− subpopulations of one cell line of interest.

Materials and methods

Ten CRC cell lines were analyzed for CD133 expression using flow cytometry and Western blotting. CD133⁺ and CD133⁻ HCT-116 subpopulations were separated by FACS and studied in 2-D and 3-D culture and colony formation assays after irradiation. Subcutaneous xenograft formation was monitored in NMRI (nu/nu) mice.

Results and conclusions

CRC cell lines could be classified into three groups: (i) CD133⁻, (ii) CD133⁺ and (iii) those with two distinct CD133⁺ and CD133⁻ subpopulations. Isolated CD133^+/− HCT-116 subpopulations were studied relative to the original fraction. No difference was found in 2-D growth, spheroid formation or radioresponse in vitro. Also, tumor formation and growth rate did not differ for the sorted subpopulations. However, a subset of xenografts originated from CD133⁻ HCT-116 showed a striking enrichment in the CD133⁺ fraction. Our data show that CD133 expression is not selective for sphere forming, tumor-initiating or radioresistant subpopulations in the HCT-116 CRC cell line. This implies that CD133 cannot be regarded as a CSC/TIC marker in all CRC cell lines and that functional measurements of tumor formation have to generally accompany CSC/TIC-directed mechanistic or therapeutic studies.

Keywords: Cancer stem/tumor-initiating cells (CSC/TIC), Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cell lines, HCT-116, 2-D culture, 3-D culture, Radioresponse

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☆ The publisher regrets that an incorrect version of the above paper was published in Radiotherapy and Oncology, volume 92, issue 3, pages 353–61. The incorrect version contained grammatical errors, e.g. in title, abstract and the discussion as well as an incomplete Fig. 2.

PII: S0167-8140(09)00590-8

doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2009.10.010

Refers to article:

CD133 expression is not selective for tumor-initiating or radioresistant cell populations in the CRC cell lines HCT-116 , 25 August 2009
Claudia Dittfeld, Antje Dietrich, Susann Peickert, Sandra Hering, Michael Baumann, Marian Grade, Thomas Ried, Leoni A. Kunz-Schughart
Radiotherapy & Oncology September 2009 (Vol. 92, Issue 3, Pages 353-361)