PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - MARIANA LUCERO AU - JASPREET THIND AU - JACQUELINE SANDOVAL AU - SHAYAN SENAATI AU - BELINDA JIMENEZ AU - RAJ P. KANDPAL TI - Stem-like Cells from Invasive Breast Carcinoma Cell Line MDA-MB-231 Express a Distinct Set of Eph Receptors and Ephrin Ligands AID - 10.21873/cgp.20227 DP - 2020 Nov 01 TA - Cancer Genomics - Proteomics PG - 729--738 VI - 17 IP - 6 4099 - http://cgp.iiarjournals.org/content/17/6/729.short 4100 - http://cgp.iiarjournals.org/content/17/6/729.full SO - Cancer Genomics Proteomics2020 Nov 01; 17 AB - Background/Aim: Breast cancer cell lines consist of bulk tumor cells and a small proportion of stem-like cells. While the bulk cells are known to express a distinct combination of Eph receptors and ephrin ligands, the transcript profiles of stem-like cells in these cell lines have not been adequately characterized. The aim of this study was to determine Eph receptor/ephrin ligand profiles of cancer stem cells specific to a triple negative breast carcinoma cell line. Materials and Methods: The normal breast cell line MCF10A and the invasive breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-231 were used to isolate CD24+/CD24− cell populations. The profiles of Eph receptors and ephrin ligands were determined by real-time PCR and the relative abundance in bulk and stem cells were compared. Results: Based on the mean ΔCT values, the descending order of abundance was as follows. Ephrin-A5 > EPHA2 > (EPHA8, EPHB2) > ephrin-B2 > (EPHA7, EPHB4, ephrin-A4) > ephrin-A3 > ephrin-A1 > (EPHB3, ephrin-B1) > EPHA4 > EPHA1 > EPHA10. EPHA6 and ephrin-A2 transcripts were not detectable in stem cells from either cell line. The expression of EPHA4, EPHA7, EPHA8, and ephrin-A5 in MDA-MB-231 stem cells was up-regulated by 12, 20, ~500, and 6.5-fold respectively. Conclusion: The up-regulation of transcripts for EPHA8 and its cognate ligand, ephrin-A5, in the stem cells isolated from MDA-MB-231, suggest their involvement in the invasiveness of this cell line. Based on literature reports, we propose the role of EPHA8 and ephrin-A5 in MDA-MB-231 stem cells via the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway.