Fig. 1

DCLK1 promotes CSC-like properties of TNBC cells. a The protein and mRNA levels of DCLK1 were higher in TNBC cells than normal breast epithelial cells MCF10A. b Flow cytometry analysis revealing the percentage of stem-like subpopulation CD44^high/CD24^low in BT549 and MDA-MB-468 cells. c Western blotting analysis of DCLK1 expression by DCLK1 knockout in BT549 cells and DCLK1 overexpression in MDA-MB-468 cells. d Flow cytometry analyzing the percentage of stem-like subpopulation CD44^high/CD24^low after DCLK1 knockout in BT549 cells (upper) and DCLK1 overexpression in MDA-MB-468 cells (lower). e Tumorsphere formation assays analyzing the impacts of DCLK1 knockout and DCLK1 overexpression on self-renewal capabilities of TNBC cells. Scale bars: 1000 μm. f Real-time qPCR (left) and Western blotting (right) analysis of CSC-associated markers in DCLK1-overexpressing MDA-MB-468 cells and DCLK1-knockout BT549 cells. g Transwell assays showing the enhanced migratory/invasive abilities in DCLK1-overexpressing MDA-MB-468 cells (left) as well as the inhibited migratory/invasive abilities in DCLK1-knockout BT549 cells compared to the corresponding control cells (right). h Western blotting determination of the effects of DCLK1 expression on EMT-associated markers. i Lung metastases in the BALB/c nude mice intravenously injected with DCLK1-knockout BT549 cells and the control cells (left), comparison of lung metastases by H&E staining (middle) and counting the number of metastases (right)