Murine fertilized ovum, blastomere and morula cells lacking SP phenotype

Dexamethasone reduces side population fraction through downregulation of ABCG2 transporter in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Side population (SP) cells represent a rare population among breast cancer cells. SP cells have been reported to act as cancer stem‑like cells, and to participate in the development of multidrug resistance via modulating the expression of ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2). Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid drug that has been used as an adjuvant treatment to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents; however, its effects in breast cancer have yet to be thoroughly investigated. In the present study, the effects of dexamethasone were investigated using the human MCF‑7 breast cancer cell line, and SPs were examined in detail. Cellular proliferation, SP fractions and ABCG2 expression were examined following treatment of MCF‑7 cells with dexamethasone. Dexamethasone was revealed to cause a dose‑ and time‑dependent decrease in cancer cell proliferation, and it also decreased the size of the SP fraction of MCF‑7 cells and the expression of the ABCG2 transporter. The effects of dexamethasone on cellular proliferation, SP fraction and ABCG2 expression were abolished following the administration of the glucocorticoid antagonist RU486. These results suggested that dexamethasone may target breast cancer cell SPs and thus increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy. Therefore, it may be hypothesized that dexamethasone can be used as a chemosensitizer in the adjuvant treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Identification and characterization of side population cells in embryonic stem cell cultures

Marker and functional heterogeneity has been described for embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This property has been correlated with the presence of ESC subpopulations resembling pluripotent cell lineages of the embryo. The ability to efflux Hoechst (Ho) displayed by side population (SP) cells has proven valuable as a marker to identify multipotent stem cells from a variety of tissues. Here we report that cultures from different ESC lines consistently show an SP population that displays antigens of undifferentiated ESCs, distinct drug efflux properties, and an expression pattern of ABC transporters, inner cell mass (ICM), and epiblast genes, which distinguish it from the non-SP ESC fraction. This SP population contains pluripotent cells that differentiate into ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm in embryoid body and teratoma assays. Further, purified SP cells efficiently integrate into developing morulae and contribute to ICM. Under standard ESC culture conditions, SP and non-SP populations display ability to convert into each other; however, an equilibrium establishes between these fractions. Using protocols customized for SP ESCs, we report that cells with similar efflux properties can be identified in the ICM of peri-implanted blastocysts. Our results indicate that ESCs display heterogeneity for the SP marker, and the SP population of these cultures contains cells that phenotypically and functionally resemble efflux-active ICM cells of the peri-implanted embryo. Our observations suggest an involvement of the SP phenotype in ESC maintenance and early embryo development, and support the idea that ESCs are composed of distinct phenotypic and functional pluripotent subpopulations in dynamic equilibrium.