Sophie Paquet-Fifield, Shir Lin Koh, Lesley Cheng, Laura Marie Beyit, Carolyn E Shembrey, Christina Moelck, Corina Behrenbruch, Marina Papin, Meritxell Gironella, Sophie Guelfi, Ramona Nasr, Fanny Grillet, Michel Prudhomme, Jean-François Bourgaux, Antoni Castells, Jean-Marc Pascussi, Alexander G Heriot, Alain Puisieux, Melissa J Davis, Julie Pannequin, Andrew F Hill, Erica K Sloan, Frédéric Hollande
Post-treatment recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most lethal cancer worldwide, is often driven by a subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs). The tight junction (TJ) protein claudin-2 is overexpressed in human CRC where it enhances cell proliferation, colony formation, and chemoresistance in vitro. While several of these biological processes are features of the CSC phenotype, a role for claudin-2 in the regulation of these has not been identified. Here we report that elevated claudin-2 expression in stage II/III colorectal tumors is associated with poor recurrence-free survival following 5-FU-based chemotherapy, an outcome in which CSC play an instrumental role...
March 6, 2018: Cancer Research