TY  - EJOU
AU  - Fang, Li-Zhou 
AU  - Zhang, Jian-Qing 
AU  - Liu, Ling 
AU  - Fu, Wei-Ping 
AU  - Shu, Jing-Kui 
AU  - Feng, Jia-Gang 
AU  - Liang, Xiao 

TI  - Silencing of Btbd7 Inhibited Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition  and Chemoresistance in CD133<sup>+</sup> Lung Carcinoma A549 Cells
T2  - Oncology Research

PY  - 2017
VL  - 25
IS  - 5
SN  - 1555-3906

AB  - Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumorigenesis and recurrence, so targeting CSCs is an effective 
method to potentially cure cancer. BTB/POZ domain-containing protein 7 (Btbd7) has been found in various 
cancers, including lung cancer and liver cancer, but the role of Btbd7 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 
CSC self-renewal, and chemoresistance is still unknown. Therefore, in this study we found that the ratio of 
tumor sphere formation and stem cell transcription factors in CD133<sup>+</sup>
 cells was dramatically enhanced compared to parental cells, which indicated successful sorting of CD133<sup>+</sup>
 cells from A549. Meanwhile, Btbd7 and 
the markers of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process were more highly expressed in CD133<sup>+</sup>
cells than in parental cells. Silencing of Btbd7 significantly inhibited the self-renewal and EMT process in 
CD133<sup>+</sup>
 cells. Furthermore, we found that downregulation of Btbd7 promoted cell apoptosis and increased the 
sensitivity to paclitaxel in CD133<sup>+</sup>
 and parental cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that Btbd7 is a promising agent for the inhibition of survival and chemoresistance of cancer stem-like cells of NSCLC, which may 
act as an important therapeutic target in NSCLC.
KW  - Btbd7; CD133<sup>+</sup>; Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT); Chemoresistance;  Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

DO  - 10.3727/096504016X14772349843854