Genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing of esophageal cancer stem-like cells. Homo sapiens

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been considered as the main cause of cancer recurrence and metastasis. DNA methylation has been shown to be involved in the maintenance of CSCs. The methylation profile of esophageal cancer stem cells is still unknown.Side population (SP) cells were isolated from KYSE150 and EC109 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell lines. Sphere formation cells were collected from human primary esophageal cancer cells. SP cells and sphere formation cells represented as substitutes for cancer stem-like cells. We investigated the genome-wide profile of DNA methylation in esophageal cancer stem-like cells using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS). We found cancer stem-like cells have different methylation status compared with non-CSCs, which provide an important biological base for understanding esophageal cancer stem cells and developing therapeutic targets.