Molecular characterization of CD44/CD24/Ck/CD45 cells in benign and malignant breast lesions.

Breast cancer epithelial cells with the CD44/CD24 phenotype possess tumor-initiating cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) capacity. Massive parallel sequencing can be an interesting approach to deepen the molecular characterization of these cells. We characterized CD44/CD24/cytokeratin(Ck)/CD45 cells isolated through flow cytometry from 43 biopsy and 6 mastectomy samples harboring different benign and malignant breast lesions.

Co-expression of stem cell markers ALDH1 and CD44 in non-malignant and neoplastic lesions of the breast.

Background/aim: The Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) model proposes that cancer is driven by a cellular component which possesses stem cell (SC) properties, cancer stem cells (CSCs), a distinct cell-type which is tumorigenic and capable of invasion and metastasis. Enzymatic activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1), a de-toxifying enzyme that oxidizes intracellular aldehydes, has been used as a marker of normal and malignant breast stem cells (BSCs). CD44-transmembrane protein has already been shown to possess the ability to identify breast epithelial cells with stem properties.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric analysis of newly synthesized alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactones fused to sugars.

Knowledge of the fragmentation mechanisms of lactones and their behaviour under electrospray ionization (ESI) conditions can be extended to larger and more complex natural products that contain an alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactone moiety in their structure. Moreover, little is known about the gas-phase behaviour of alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactones linked or fused to sugars. Therefore, five alpha,beta-unsaturated gamma-lactones (butenolides) fused to a pyranose ring, recently synthesized compounds with potential relevance regarding their biological properties, were investigated using ESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS in both positive and negative ion modes.