CFTR IS INVOLVED IN COLORECTAL CANCER STEM CELL PHENOTYPE

ALEJANDRA G. PALMA; MILENI SOARES MACHADO; GABRIELA INÉS MARINO; MARÍA CECILIA LIRA; FRANCISCO D. ROSA; MARÍA FERNANDA RUBIO; MÓNICA A COSTAS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; REUNIÓN ANUAL DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIA 2019; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica

CFTR is a chloride channel expressed in many epithelial cells and there is a relationship between this channel and cancer. The cancer stem cells (CSC) are responsible of tumorigenesis, secondary focus formation in metastasis and chemoresistance. We previously found that CFTR is expressed in colorectal cancer cells HCT116 and is associated with cancer stem cells (CSC). To further investigate this, we inhibited CFTR activity with CFTR inhibitor-172 or downregulated CFTR expression with two different shRNA (shCFTR1 or shCFTR2) in HCT116 cells. When these cells were transfected with the shCFTRs, we observed a downregulation of both CFTR protein and mRNA by Western blot, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. Then we determined the clonogenic growth, a property of CSC, of control HCT116 cells and when CFTR is inhibited after seven days of platting at low density. The number of colonies was diminished in cells where CFTR was inhibited (p