Identification of Chemo and Radio-Resistant Sub-Population of Stem Cells in Human Cervical Cancer HeLa Cells.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer ranks the second female malignancy after breast cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are hard to be eradicated, so can recur. We aim to isolate and characterize CSCs from HeLa cells. METHODS: These cells express clusters of differentiation (CDs), 44 and 24, to be sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). RESULTS: CD44+CD24+ cells showed potential to form spheres, tumorigenicity, stemness genes and higher resistance to cisplatin, X-ray. CONCLUSION: CD44+CD24+ HeLa cells hold characteristics of CSCs, in vitro, in vivo studies, suggesting that targeting may lead to screening of new anti-cancer therapies.