ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the effects of norcantharidin (NCTD) on cancer stem cells (CSC). Methods: CSC were screened from UMUC3 and HepG2 cancer cell lines by limiting dilution method. The expression of stemness gene was examined by qPCR. MTS method was used to detect the inhibitory effect of NCTD and paclitaxel (PTX) on CSC. FACS was used to detect the cell apoptosis. Results: Sphere-forming cell subpopulations were obtained from two cell lines, with much higher expression of stemness genes NANOG, OCT4, ABCG2, CD133 and CD34. Serum-release led to significant down-regulation of the stemness genes. The CSC was highly resistant to PTX, but the resistance of NCTD was low. NCTD induced apoptosis of the CSC but had no significant effect on the expression of stemness genes. Conclusion: NCTD can induce apoptosis of CSC cell, without significant effect on cell differentiation.