Notch inhibition suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma by depleting cancer stem-like side population cells

Yu,Shudong; Zhang,Ruxin; Liu,Fenye; Wang,Hong; Wu,Jing; Wang,Yanqing

doi:10.3892/or.2012.1830

Notch inhibition suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma by depleting cancer stem-like side population cells

Authors:
- Shudong Yu
- Ruxin Zhang
- Fenye Liu
- Hong Wang
- Jing Wu
- Yanqing Wang
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Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, P.R. China, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, P.R. China, Department of Integrative Medicine and Neurobiology, Shanghai Medical College, Institute of Acupuncture Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China
Published online on: May 24, 2012 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2012.1830
Pages: 561-566

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Abstract

The cancer stem cell (CSC) is responsible for the initiation, proliferation and radiation resistance. Side population (SP) cells are a rare subset of cells enriched with CSCs. The targeting of key signaling pathways that are active in CSCs is a therapeutic approach to treating cancer. Notch signaling is important for the self-renewal and maintenance of stem cells. Our previous studies demonstrated that downregulation of Notch signaling could enhance radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. In this study, we found that Notch signaling was highly activated in SP cells compared with that of non-SP (NSP) cells of NPC. Therefore, Notch inhibition could reduce the proportion of SP cells. As SP cells decreased, proliferation, anti-apoptosis and tumorigenesis were also decreased. This study shows that Notch inhibition may be a promising clinical approach in CSC-targeting therapy for NPC.

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