articleProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesSep 20, 2004Closed access

A distinct “side population” of cells with high drug efflux capacity in human tumor cells

Houston Methodist · Baylor College of Medicine · +6 more institutions

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Abstract

A subset of stem cells, termed the "side population" (SP), has been identified in several tissues in mammalian species. These cells maintain a high efflux capability for antimitotic drugs. We have investigated whether functionally equivalent stem cells also may be detected in human cancers. We initially examined primary tumor cells from 23 patients with neuroblastoma and cell lines derived from a range of other tumors. A distinct SP was found in neuroblastoma cells from 15 of 23 patients (65%). The SP was capable of sustained expansion ex vivo and showed evidence for asymmetric division, generating both SP and non-SP progeny. These cells also expressed high levels of ABCG2 and ABCA3 transporter genes and had a…

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