ABSTRACT
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a major contributor for cancer relapse. CSCs are tumor-initiating cells that exhibit properties similar to healthy stem cells. CSCs evade treatment and immune detection by employing mechanisms such as dormancy and drug resistance, including upregulation of multi-drug resistance genes. Therefore, it is imperative to develop strategies that successfully eliminate CSCs to prevent cancer relapse. One of the major drawbacks in current research is the efficient isolation of CSCs. The development of methods that improve the isolation and characterization of CSCs is crucial to effectively target the cells without harming endogenous stem cells. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of CSCs by using two reporter vector systems, Oct4a-GFP and SORE6-GFP, in breast cancer and glioblastoma, respectively. In addition, we describe methods to confirm the characterization of long-term CSCs such as in vitro tumorsphere assay and in vivo serial dilution. Overall, the methods depicted serve as effective ways 84to identify and isolate CSCs potentially facilitating the targeting and elimination of CSCs.
