Comparative gene-expression profiling of CD133(+) and CD133(-) D10 melanoma cells

The present study aimed to compare the gene-expression profiling of CD133(+) and CD133(-) D10 cells. Cancer stem cell-like properties and gene-expression profiling of CD133(+) D10 cells versus CD133(-) cells were evaluated. The CD133(+) D10 cells showed significantly higher clonogenic and spheroid forming potential, also higher expression of stemness genes NANOG and OCT4A compared with the CD133(-) cells. Gene-expression profiling of CD133(+) versus CD133(-) D10 cells revealed that 130 genes including ABC transporter superfamily (ABCC1, ABCG2 and ABCC6) were upregulated, while 61 genes including apoptosis modifying genes (CASP8 and TNFRSF4) were downregulated. We conclude that many genes involved in drug resistance and tumor aggressiveness are upregulated in CD133(+) D10 cells and targeting them might be an efficient strategy for treatment of melanoma.