Identification of a subpopulation of cells with cancer stem cell properties in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Like many epithelial tumors, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) contains a heterogeneous population of cancer cells. We developed an immunodeficient mouse model to test the tumorigenic potential of different populations of cancer cells derived from primary, unmanipulated human HNSCC samples. We show that a minority population of CD44 + cancer cells, which typically comprise <10% of the cells in a HNSCC tumor, but not the CD44 − cancer cells, gave rise to new tumors in vivo . Immunohistochemistry revealed that the CD44 + cancer cells have a primitive cellular morphology and costain with the basal cell marker Cytokeratin 5/14, whereas the CD44 − cancer cells resemble differentiated squamous…

• CS
  China Scholarship Council
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: CA097248, P50 CA097248