Gastric cancer stem-like cells possess higher capability of invasion and metastasis in association with a mesenchymal transition phenotype

Cancer stem cells have been isolated from various types of cancer including leukemia and solid tumors. However, the methods for isolating gastric cancer stem-like cells (GCSCs) have not been well established. As a consequence, the biological behavior and the significance of these cells to cancer progression remains to be clarified. In this study, we isolated and characterized GCSCs from a gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 and found their enhanced capabilities of invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo. We further studied the expression of molecules related to epithelial–mesenchymal and invasion in GCSCs and found there were decreased E-cadherin, but increased vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), in these cells. Our results suggest that decreased E-cadherin and increased MMP-2 may be associated with the capacity of GCSCs to metastasize.