In vivo Lineage-tracing Studies in a Cancer Stem Cell Population in Neuroblastoma

Tumors are comprised of heterogeneous subpopulations that may exhibit differing capacity for differentiation, self-renewal, and tumorigenicity. In vivo lineage-tracing studies are a powerful tool for defining the role of tumor subpopulations in tumor growth and as targets for therapeutic agents. This protocol describes using a neuroblastoma cancer cell line transduced with two different fluorescent proteins (GFP and td Tomato) to track the specific contributions of cells expressing the GCSF receptor (CD114⁺) or not (CD114^-) on tumor growth in vivo.