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Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Isolation and Functional Assessment of Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Cell and Tissue Samples
Published on: October 2, 2020
PKM2 promotes stemness of breast cancer cell by through Wnt/β-catenin pathway
Zheng Zhao1,2, Zhangjun Song3, Zijun Liao2
1Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Metastasis is one of the main causes of breast cancer (BCa)-related deaths in female. It has been reported that cancer stem cell played an important role in metastasis. Here we first revealed a specific role of pyruvate kinase isozymes M2 (PKM2) in the stemness of breast cancer cells. Breast cancer tissue analysis confirmed the upregulation of PKM2 in breast cancer, and high PKM2 levels were associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. Holoclone assay and colony formation assay significantly elucidated the role of PKM2 in the self-renewal of breast cancer cells. Moreover, PKM2 elevated the proportion of stem cell and the ability of sphere formation in breast cancer cells. PKM2 played its functional role in stemness by regulating β-catenin. Collectively, we identified critical roles of PKM2 in the stemness of breast cancer cells which may elevate the therapeutic effect on breast cancer patients.
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