Significantly increased expression of OCT4 and ABCG2 in spheroid body-forming cells of the human gastric cancer MKN-45 cell line

The cancer stem cell (CSC) theory hypothesizes that CSCs are the cause of tumor formation, recurrence and metastasis. Key to the study of CSCs is their isolation and identification. The present study investigated whether spheroid body-forming cells in the human gastric cancer (GC) MKN-45 cell line are enriched for CSC properties, and also assessed the expression of the candidate CSC markers, octamer-binding transcription factor-4 (OCT4) and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter G2 (ABCG2) in the MKN-45 spheroid body cells. The MKN-45 cells were plated in a stem cell-conditioned culture system to allow for spheroid body formation. The expression levels of OCT4 and ABCG2 in the spheroid body cells were assessed by qPCR, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining, while the tumorigenicity of the spheroid body-forming cells was assessed by in vivo xenograft studies in nude mice. The MKN-45 cells were able to form spheroid bodies when cultured in stem cell-conditioned medium. The spheroid body-forming cells showed a significantly higher (P<0.01) expression of OCT4 and ABCG2 compared with the parental cells. These data suggest that the spheroid body cells from the MKN-45 GC cell line cultured in stem cell-conditioned medium possessed gastric CSC properties. The co-expression of OCT4 and ABCG2 by these cells may represent the presence of a subpopulation of gastric CSCs.