Oral cancer stem cell transcriptome

We have investigated the cellular states and transitions among oral cancer subpopulations by multiplexing phenotypic markers of stem-like cancer cells (SLCCs); CD44, CD24 and ALDH-activity and found the co-existence of ALDH-High cells overlapping with both CD24-High and CD24-Low phenotypes in CD44-positive oral cancer cells. RNAseq data of these subpopulations demonstrated the alternate states of putative stemness, maintained within intermediate differentiating subpopulations, irrespective of their genetic and epigenetic diversity. Intriguingly, using the TCGA HNSCC patient cohorts, we found poorer prognosis for those patients who had lower expression of transcriptomic signatures specific to a subpopulation which had maximum potency to repopulate other phenotypes. We, for the first time showcased specific cellular transitions leading to transcriptomic heterogeneity and its influence on tumor behaviour in oral cancer patients.