Poster #060
Breast cancer stem cells show greater motility & response to electric field
Mentors: Dr. Kan Zhu, PhD and Dr. Min Zhao, MD, Phd
Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in women. Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), a subpopulation within tumors with surface markers of CD44+/CD24-/HER2+, possess the abilities of self-renewal and differentiation. They have been shown to metastasize and promote tumor angiogenesis. The tumor microenvironment and its endogenous electric fields (EFs) play an important role in cancer cell behavior. Motile cells exhibit galvanotaxis, a directional migration in a direct current EF, which is important in wound healing and cancer progression. In this study, isolated BCSCs from MCF7 breast cancer cells and MCF7 cells were exposed to an EF. After comparing cell migration, we found that in an EF, BCSCs migrated faster compared to MCF7 cells. Our findings suggest that EFs increase BCSC sensitivity and migration speed. These findings support previous studies demonstrating that BCSCs are more motile and have an increased response to bioelectric cues.