Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly heterogeneous disease, which influences the therapeutic response and makes difficult the discovery of effective targets. This heterogeneity is attributed to the presence of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), which determines resistance to chemotherapy and subsequently disease recurrence and metastasis. In this context, this work aimed to evaluate the morphological and phenotypic cellular heterogeneity of two TNBC cell lines cultured in monolayer and tumorsphere (TS) models by fluorescence and electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The BT-549 and Hs 578T analyses demonstrated large phenotypic and morphological heterogeneity between these cell lines, as well as between the cell subpopulations that compose them. BT-549 and Hs 578T are heterogeneous considering the cell surface marker CD44 and CD24 expression, characterizing BCSC mesenchymal-like cells (CD44+/CD24-), epithelial cells (CD44-/CD24+), hybrid cells with mesenchymal and epithelial features (CD44+/CD24+), and CD44-/CD24- cells. BCSC epithelial-like cells (ALDH+) were found in BT-549, BT-549 TS, and Hs 578T TS; however, only BT-549 TS showed a high ALDH activity. Ultrastructural characterization showed the heterogeneity within and among BT-549 and Hs 578T in monolayer and TS models being formed by more than one cellular type. Further, the mesenchymal characteristic of these cells is demonstrated by E-cadherin absence and filopodia. It is well known that tumor cell heterogeneity can influence survival, therapy responses, and the rate of tumor growth. Thus, molecular understanding of this heterogeneity is essential for the identification of potential therapeutic options and vulnerabilities of oncological patients.Keywords: Cancer stem cell; Cell line; Cellular heterogeneity; Triple negative breast cancer.

---

 

乐备实是国内专注于提供高质量蛋白检测以及组学分析服务的实验服务专家，自2018年成立以来，乐备实不断寻求突破，公司的服务技术平台已扩展到单细胞测序、空间多组学、流式检测、超敏电化学发光、Luminex多因子检测、抗体芯片、PCR Array、ELISA、Elispot、PLA蛋白互作、多色免疫组化、DSP空间多组学等30多个，建立起了一套涵盖基因、蛋白、细胞以及组织水平实验的完整检测体系。

 
我们可提供从样本运输、储存管理、样本制备、样本检测到检测数据分析的全流程服务。凭借严格的实验室管理流程、标准化实验室操作、原始数据储存体系以及实验项目管理系统，已经为超过3000家客户单位提供服务，年检测样本超过100万，受到了广大客户的信任与支持。