In vitro analysis of putative cancer stem cell populations and chemosensitivity in the SW480 and SW620 colon cancer metastasis model

The cancer stem cell (CSC) theory implicates a small subpopulation of cells with stem-like properties, which is responsible for tumour initiation, development and metastasis. The unique biological and functional characteristics of CSCs, widely associated with treatment resistance, indicate an association between metastasis and stemness. It was hypothesised that metastatic cell lines may be enriched in CSCs and that this would correlate with a more resistant tumour. In the present study, the SW480 and SW620 paired cell lines derived from a colon adenocarcinoma and its lymph node metastasis, respectively were compared as an in vitro model of cancer progression. Their chemosensitivity and CSC properties were investigated. A range of in vitro assays were performed, including the side population assay, ALDEFLUOR assay, tumoursphere assay and assessment of CSC-associated surface phenotypes. It was determined that the SW480 and SW620 cells exhibited similar growth rates, although the SW480 cells were more migratory in wound healing assays on collagen and fibronectin matrices. SW480 and SW620 cells displayed similar CSC profiles, however, SW480 cells demosntrated significantly greater tumoursphere forming efficiency over SW620 cells. Tumourspheres derived from SW480 and SW620 cells also displayed differential sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, geldanamycin and novobiocin that was not apparent when cells were grown under adherent conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that although the two cell lines have similar levels of putative CSC populations, there are differences in their biology that cannot be explained by these CSC levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a detailed analysis of the CSC populations using multiple in vitro assays in a paired cell line model. These results have clinical relevance for the understanding of the differences between primary tumours and their metastatic counterparts.