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Isolation and Functional Assessment of Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Cell and Tissue Samples
07:03

Isolation and Functional Assessment of Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Cell and Tissue Samples

Published on: October 2, 2020

4.7K

FTY720 Inhibits Expansion of Breast Cancer Stem Cells via PP2A Activation

Naoya Hirata1,2, Shigeru Yamada1,2, Shota Yanagida1,3

  • 1Division of Pharmacology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Kanagawa 210-9501, Japan.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|July 24, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The drug FTY720 effectively targets breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) by inhibiting their proliferation and stemness. This study highlights FTY720 as a potential therapeutic agent for breast cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Stem Cell Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Breast cancer may originate from cancer stem cells (CSCs), identified by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity.
  • Novel therapeutics targeting CSCs are needed for effective breast cancer treatment.
  • Drug repositioning offers a promising avenue for discovering new CSC-targeting drugs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the efficacy of FTY720, an inhibitor of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1), against breast cancer stem cells (CSCs).
  • To evaluate FTY720's impact on CSC proliferation, mammosphere formation, and stem cell marker expression.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity-based flow cytometry to identify and analyze CSCs.
  • Assessed the effect of FTY720 on CSC proliferation and mammosphere formation in vitro.
  • Measured the expression levels of stem cell markers (Oct3/4, Sox2, Nanog) and protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A).

Main Results:

  • FTY720 significantly inhibited the proliferation of ALDH-positive breast CSCs.
  • FTY720 treatment reduced mammosphere formation, a measure of stem cell self-renewal.
  • FTY720 decreased the expression of key stem cell markers by upregulating PP2A.

Conclusions:

  • FTY720 demonstrates potent anti-cancer stem cell activity in vitro.
  • FTY720 shows potential as a therapeutic drug for targeting breast CSCs.
  • The findings support FTY720 as a repositioned drug candidate for breast cancer therapy.
Keywords:
ALDHFTY720PP2ASphK1cancer stem cellsdrug repositioning

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