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Human breast cancer stem cell markers CD44 and CD24: enriching for cells with functional properties in mice or in man?
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* Corresponding author: Charlotte Kuperwasser Charlotte.Kuperwasser@tufts.edu
1 Department of Genetics, Sackler School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA
2 Department of Anatomy & Cellular Biology, Sackler School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA
3 Department of Radiation Oncology, Molecular Oncology Research Institute, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA
Breast Cancer Research 2007, 9:303 doi:10.1186/bcr1673
Published: 29 May 2007Abstract
Identification of breast cancer stem cells as the cells within breast tumors that have the ability to give rise to cells that make up the bulk of the tumor mass has shifted the focus of cancer research. However, there is still much debate concerning the unique nature of the markers that distinguish cancer stem cells in the breast. As such, understanding whether CD44+/CD24- breast cancer cells are merely more successful in overcoming an engraftment incompatibility that exists when injecting human cells into the mouse adipose tissue or are indeed bona fide cancer stem cells is of great importance.