c-Met regulation of tumor initiation and stemness occurs through CD44s

c-Met induces tumor initiation and stemness in HCC cells through the regulation of CD44s via AKT signaling. Over-expression of CD44s in c-Met and CD44s negative cells induce both a stemness and mesenchymal phenotype independent of c-Met. The down regulation of CD44s or c-Met was compared to Scrambled control to investigate the effects of CD44s or c-Met on global changes of mesenchymal or stemness markers.