Fig. 2

EZH2-mediated integrin α11 overexpression in drug-resistant breast cancer increases cancer stem cell populations (A) Enhanced spheroid formation was observed in TAMR and ADR cells. The scale bar (white) corresponds to 200 μm. The bar graph quantifies spheroids with diameters exceeding 50 μm. (B) Analysis of cancer stem cell populations within MCF-7, TAMR, and ADR cells. The bar graph shows the relative abundance of CSCs (CD24-CD44+) from three independent experiments. (C) In silico examination of common DEGs to predict shared stemness-associated molecules in TAMR and ADR cells using the StemChecker online tool. (D, G) Effects of silencing (D) and overexpression (G) of SUZ12 or EZH2 on the viability of cells treated with tamoxifen or doxorubicin. (E, H) Sphere-forming ability of cancer cells transfected with siRNAs (E) or overexpressing plasmids (H) of EZH2 or SUZ12. (F) Immunoblots reveal the effect of ITGA11, SUZ12, or EZH2 KD on the expression of integrin α11 and stemness marker proteins (Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4). (I) Comparison of the effects of SUZ12/EZH2 overexpression on integrin α11 expression and stemness marker proteins (Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4) with TAMR and ADR. (J) Overall survival rates of breast cancer patients with high and low expression of ITGA11 (Left) and EZH2 (Right). (K) Probability of relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients with high and low expression of ITGA11 (Left) and EZH2 (Right)