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Hedgehog (Hh) signaling has been found to be activated in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). However, the precise role of the BCSCs marker, CD24, remains unclear. Here, we describe a relationship between CD24 and Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), and reveal a role for this relationship in the induction of a malignant phenotype of breast cancer. CD24 siRNA-transfected breast cancer cells (BCCs) demonstrated higher expression of SHH and GLI1, increased anchorage-independent proliferation, and enhanced invasiveness and superior tumorigenicity compared with control. Conversely, CD24 forced-expressing BCCs possessed decreased SHH and GLI1 expression, anchorage-independent proliferation, and invasiveness. Suppression of SHH decreased invasiveness through inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression, GLI1 expression, anchorage-independent proliferation, tumorigenicity, and tumor volume in vivo in CD24 siRNA transfected BCCs. DNA microarray analysis identified STAT1 as a relationship between CD24 and SHH. CD24 siRNA-transfected BCCs with concurrent STAT1 inhibition exhibited decreased SHH expression, invasiveness, anchorage-independent proliferation, tumorigenicity, and tumor volume in vivo. These results suggest that CD24 suppresses development of a malignant phenotype by down-regulating SHH transcription through STAT1 inhibition. CD24 gene transfer or STAT1 inhibition may represent new effective therapeutic strategies to target refractory breast cancer.

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Therapeutic effects of hybrid liposomes (HL) composed of l-α-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and polyoxyethylene(25) dodecyl ether (C(12)(EO)(25)) on the metastasis of human colon carcinoma (HCT116) cells were examined in vivo. Remarkably high therapeutic effects were obtained in the xenograft mouse models of colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastases after treatment with HL-25 on the basis of relative liver weight and histological analysis of the liver tissue sections of mouse models with HE staining, and TUNEL staining for detection of apoptotic cells. The survival effects of HL-25 were obtained using xenograft mouse models of CRC liver metastases. Furthermore, with regard to pharmacokinetics, the accumulation of fluorescent labeled HL-25 was observed in the liver tissue of xenograft mouse models of CRC liver metastases for 24 h after the intravenous injection of fluorescent labeled HL-25. Therapeutic effects of HL without any drugs on the liver metastasis of human CRC were revealed for the first time in vivo.

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