Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a population of tumor-derived cells that detach from the primary tumor and initiate metastasis. However, the mechanisms of this process are still unknown. This phenomenon renders CTCs as a valuable resource for prognosis and diagnosis of cancer. The involvement of stemness transcription factors and markers, such as NANOG, OCT3/4, CD34, NESTIN, and SOX2, in metastasis initiation has been studied recently because their abnormally elevated expression in cancer cells may be highly important in understanding tumor initiation. This study analyzed the genetic profiles of the above genes in CTCs derived from patients with different types of cancer. Blood samples were randomly collected from 71 cancer patients with various cancer types. CTCs were isolated using enrichment protocols and RNA was extracted. RT-qPCR was performed in triplicate using ACTB as the reference gene. The statistical analysis was performed among the ΔCts of the samples using parametric and non-parametric methods. The molecular analysis revealed that the expression of each gene was different than the others. When each type of cancer was analyzed separately, the gene expression profile was not always the same. It is noteworthy that, in all cases, the gene expression of NESTIN differed from that of transcription factors. According to the above data, gene expression profiles might be used as a potential biomarker or constitute a gene signature.
Highlights
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) constitute a sub-population of cancer cells that have shed into the vasculature or lymphatics from a primary tumor
In breast CTCs, there was a difference in gene expression among NANOG-OCT3/4 (p = 0.02), NANOG-NESTIN (p = 10−9), and NANOG-CD34 (p = 10−6), but not between NANOG-SOX2 (p = 0.186)
In colon CTCs, the gene expression was different for NANOG-CD34 (p = 0.005) and NANOG-NESTIN (p = 0.0001), but not for NANOG-OCT3/4 (p = 0.3905) and NANOG-SOX2 (p = 0.96)
Summary
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) constitute a sub-population of cancer cells that have shed into the vasculature or lymphatics from a primary tumor. The existence of CTCs has been reported in most solid cancers, and their use as a diagnostic resource is well established [2]. Another cell subpopulation with EMT properties is cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells have been proposed to initiate cancer and propagate metastasis, and are capable of self-renewal and regenerating the tumor [3]. NANOG, OCT3/4, SOX2, NESTIN, and CD34 constitute a well-characterized gene group for stem cells [4]. The present study aimed to identify the gene expression of the above stemness transcription factors and markers in CTCs derived from various types of cancer
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