Novel therapeutic strategy targeting pancreatic cancer stem cell-niche

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We performed a comprehensive analysis to identify an important regulator of cancer stem cell-related phenotype and a novel marker of pancreatic cancer stem cell. miR-197 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer tissue compared with IPMN, and this microRNA had an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-promoting role in cancer cells. miR-197 directly targeted p120 catenin, which was important for the maintenance of epithelial phenotypes. A membrane protein CDCP1 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer cells, whose knockdown attenuated the cancer stem cell-related phenotypes such as EMT or spheroid formation. Furthermore, we confirmed that the expression of CDCP1 was regulated by BMP4/ERK pathway in pancreatic cancer cells. These data would lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets that could eliminate cancer stem cells.