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Stem Cells

Emerging evidence has suggested that the capability of a tumor to grow and propagate is dependent on a small subset of cells within a tumor, termed cancer stem cells Using a xenograft model in which primary human pancreatic adenocarcinomas were grown in immunocompromised mice, we identified a highly tumorigenic subpopulation of pancreatic cancer cells expressing the cell surface markers CD44, CD24, and ESA. Pancreatic cancer cells with the CD44+CD24+ESA+ phenotype (.2-.8% of pancreatic cancer cells) had a 100 fold increased tumorigenic potential compared to non-tumorigenic cancer cells, with 50% of animals injected with as few as 100 CD44+CD24+ESA+ cells forming tumors that were histologically indistinguishable from the human tumors from which they originated. The enhanced ability of CD44+CD24+ESA+ pancreatic cancer cells to form tumors was confirmed in anorthotopic pancreatic tail injection model. The CD44+CD24+ESA+ pancreatic cancer cells demonstrated the stem cell properties of self-renewal and the ability to produce differentiated progeny. Identification of pancreatic cancer stem cells and further elucidation of the signaling pathways that regulate their growth and survival may provide novel therapeutic approaches to treat pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously resistant to standard chemotherapy and radiation.

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