Original article
Sulforaphane targets cancer stemness and tumor initiating properties in oral squamous cell carcinomas via miR-200c induction

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2016.01.004Get rights and content
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Abstract

Background/Purpose

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are deemed as the driving force of tumorigenesis in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). In this study, we investigated the chemotherapeutic effect of sulforaphane, a dietary component from broccoli sprouts, on targeting OSCC-CSCs.

Methods

The effect of sulforaphane on normal oral epithelial cells (SG) and sphere-forming OSCC-CSCs isolated from SAS and GNM cells was examined. ALDH1 activity and CD44 positivity of OSCC-CSCs with sulforaphane treatment was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. In vitro and in vivo tumorigenicity assays of OSCC-CSCs with sulforaphane treatment were presented.

Results

We observed that the sulforaphane dose-dependently eliminated the proliferation rate of OSCC-CSCs, whereas the inhibition on SG cells proliferation was limited. Cancer stemness properties including self-renewal, CD44 positivity, and ALDH1 activity were also decreased in OSCC-CSCs with different doses of sulforaphane treatment. Moreover, sulforaphane treatment of OSCC-CSCs decreased the migration, invasion, clonogenicity, and in vivo tumorigenicity of xenograghts. Sulforaphane treatment resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the levels of tumor suppressive miR200c.

Conclusion

These lines of evidence suggest that sulforaphane can suppress the cancer stemness and tumor-initiating properties in OSCC-CSCs both in vitro and in vivo.

Keywords

cancer stemness
oral squamous cell carcinomas
sulforaphane

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Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

d

These two authors contributed equally to the results of this study.