ALCAM⁺ stromal cells: role in giant cell tumor of bone progression

Giant cell tumor of bone(GCTB) is a special benign tumor with variable aggressiveness and recurrence rate. Increasing evidences suggest that a subset of cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs) are present as cancer-initiating cells in a range of malignant tumors. However, the role of CSCs in benign tumor such as GCTB remains unknown, and the connection between the presence of CSCs and biological characteristics of GCTB is unclear. To investigate this issue, we screened a panel of markers of normal stem cells and CSCs and found ALCAM+ stromal cells possessed characteristics of stem-like cells. Subsequently a series of experiments such cell proliferation, migration and invasion assays were performed to investigate the biological characteristics of ALCAM+ stromal cells in vivo and in vitro. The clinical significance of ALCAM expression were further evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. The ALCAM+ GCTB cells showed the stem cell properties of self renewal and had the capacity to differentiate in vitro. The ALCAM+ GCTB cells showed increased resistance for chemotherapy- or radiation-induced cell death. ALCAM knockdown reduced stem/progenitor characteristics in GCTB Cells. Furthermore, ALCAM expression was associated with outcome in GCTB patients. Our work demonstrates for the first time ALCAM+ tumorigenic sub-population within stromal GCTB cells and may represent a potential therapeutic target in aggressive and recurrent GCTBs.