The PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway Controls the Quiescence of the Low-Rhodamine123-Retention Cell Compartment Enriched for Melanoma Stem Cell Activity

• Authors: TOUIL Yasmine; ZULIANI Thomas; WOLOWCZUK Isabelle; KURANDA Klaudia; MEDALOVÁ Jiřina; ANDRIEUX Joris; LE ROY Helene; MORTIER Laurent; VANDOMME Jerome; JOUY Nathalie; MASSELOT Bernadette; SEGARD Pascaline; QUESNEL Bruno; FORMSTECHER Pierre; POLAKOWSKA Renata
• Year of publication: 2013
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Stem Cells
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Web: URL
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/stem.1333
• Field: Physiology
• Keywords: Melanoma stem cells; quiescence;Rhodamine123 exclusion ; LY294002; PI3K/AKT pathway ; phenotype switching
• Description: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive and extremely resistant to conventional therapies neoplasms. Recently, cellular resistance was linked to the cancer stem cell phenotype, still controversial and not well defined. In this study, we utilized a Rhodamine 123 (Rh123) exclusion assay to functionally identify stem-like cells in metastatic human melanomas and melanoma cell lines. We demonstrate that a small subset of Rh123-low-retention (Rh123low) cells is enriched for stem cell-like activities, including the ability to self-renew and produce non-stem Rh123high progeny and to form melanospheres, recapitulating the phenotypic profile of the parental tumor.