Fas Protects Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Death
Abstract
During the first reporting period my investigations on Fas (also called CD95) signaling in breast cancer and in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) led me to identify a novel lifeprotective role for Fas. Briefly, I found that the non-BCSCs component of a breast tumor is more sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis, while the BCSCs part is more sensitive to the death induced by the elimination of CD95 (a phenomenon we have recently described and named DICE). This was found in different breast cancer cells lines and further investigations will provide the basis for the identification of novel molecular targets for the treatment of breast cancer. During this first reporting period I have in fact observed a significant enhancement of cancer cell death by simultaneously inducing apoptosis and DICE in breast cancer cells, with many potential therapeutical applications. I could also demonstrate the involvement of miRNA in the process. Moreover, I have developed a novel plasmid-based tool to isolate BCSCS by the activity of miRNAs, and I am going to optimize and test the relevance of its use in the next reporting period.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA613359
Entities
People
- Paolo Ceppi
Organizations
- Northwestern University