Identification of CD146 as a Marker Enriched for Tumor-Propagating Capacity Reveals Targetable Pathways in Primary Human Sarcoma Scientists performed a high-throughput cell surface antigen screen and found that CD146 is enriched in the tumor side population. In vivo serial transplantation assays showed that CD146+ cells are highly tumorigenic, capable of self-renewal and thus enriches the tumor-propagating cells population. [Oncotarget] Full Article Targeting Stemness Is an Effective Strategy to Control EML4-ALK+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells The authors report that stem-like properties stem from anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) activity in echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)-ALK+ non-small cell lung carcinoma cells. [Oncotarget] Full Article Bub1 Is Required for Maintaining Cancer Stem Cells in Breast Cancer Cell Lines Scientists identified that depleting Bub1 (budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1) using shRNAs reduces cancer stem cell potential of the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line, resulting in inhibited formation of xenografts in immunocompromised mice. [Sci Rep] Full Article A Paired Comparison between Glioblastoma ‘Stem Cells’ and Differentiated Cells Researchers compared key features of three pairs of glioblastoma cell populations, each pair consisting of stem cell-like and differentiated cells derived from an individual patient. [Int J Cancer] Abstract Tumor Cell-Derived Periostin Regulates Cytokines that Maintain Breast Cancer Stem Cells Scientists hypothesized that basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) cells are able to establish a niche permissive to the maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and found that tumor cell-derived periostin, a component of the extracellular matrix, as well as a corresponding cognate receptor, integrin alphavbeta3, are highly expressed in a subset of BLBC cell lines as well as in CSC-enriched populations. [Mol Cancer Res] Abstract Stem Cell Protein Piwil1 Endowed Endometrial Cancer Cells with Stem-Like Properties via Inducing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Scientists suggest that stem cell protein Piwil1 plays important roles in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition and the acquisition of stem-like properties of endometrial cancer cells. [BMC Cancer] Full Article Salinomycin Promotes Anoikis and Decreases the CD44+/CD24– Stem-Like Population via Inhibition of STAT3 Activation in MDA-MB-231 Cells Researchers investigated the effect of salinomycin on cell death, migration, and invasion, as well as cancer stem cell-like properties in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. [PLoS One] Full Article Metformin and Soybean-Derived Bioactive Molecules Attenuate the Expansion of Stem Cell-Like Epithelial Subpopulation and Confer Apoptotic Sensitivity in Human Colon Cancer Cells To investigate the actions of metabolic regulators on cancer stem cell-like cells (CSC) in colorectal cancer, investigators determined the effects of soybean-derived bioactive molecules and the anti-diabetes drug metformin, alone and together, on the growth, survival, and frequency of CSC in human HCT116 cells. [Genes Nutr] Abstract  |