Ecto-5′-nucleotidase (CD73) is a biomarker for clear cell renal carcinoma stem-like cells

Identification of a specific biomarker for cancer stem cells (CSCs) is of potential applications in the development of effective therapeutic strategies for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study, both the RCC cell line 786-O and surgically removed clear cell RCC (ccRCC) tissues were implemented to grew as spheroids in serum-free medium supplemented with mitogens. This subpopulation possessed key characteristics defining CSCs. We also identified that surgically removed ccRCC tissues were heterogenic and there was a subpopulation of cells that was highly stained with rhodamine-123. Based on membrane-proteomic analyses, CD73 was identified as a candidate biomarker. We further found that CD73(high) cells were highly tumorigenic. As few as 100 CD73(high) cells were capable of forming xenograft tumors in non obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency disease mice, whereas 1 × 10(5) CD73(low) cells did not initiate tumor formation. During successive culture, the CD73(high) population regenerated both CD73(high) and CD73(low) cells, whereas the CD73(low) population remained low expression level of CD73. Furthermore, the CD73(high) cells were more resistant to radiation and DNA-damaging agents than the CD73(low) cells, and expressed a panel of ‘stemness’ genes at a higher level than the CD73(low) cells. These findings suggest that a high level of CD73 expression is a bona fide biomarker of ccRCC stem-like cells. Future research will aim at the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms of CD73 in RCC development and the distinct aspects of ccRCC stem-like cells from other tumor types.