Figure 1.

KLF8 induces stem cell traits in MCF-10A cells associated with EMT. A and B: Induction of an increase in CD44^high/CD24_low cells by KLF8 and TGF-β. The 10A-iK8 cells were grown under uninduced (U) or induced (I) conditions, or the parental MCF-10A cells were grown untreated (-TGF-β) or treated (+TGF-β) with recombinant TGF-β (2.5 ng/ml) for two weeks. The cells were then prepared for FACS analysis of expression of the cell-surface markers CD44 and CD24 as described in the Materials and Methods to identify CD44^high/CD24_low cell population (% shown in red). C and D: Induction of an increase in ALDH⁺ cells by KLF8 and TGF-β. The 10A-iK8 cells or parental MCF-10A cells were grown and treated as described above, followed by FACS analysis of ALDH expression in the cells using the ALDEFLIOR assay as described in the Materials and Methods to identify the ALDH⁺ cell population. Representative FACS results are shown C where percentage of ALDH⁺ cell populations are indicated in red in the absence of DEAB, normalized to those in the presence of DEAB. Fold changes in the ALDH⁺ cell populations caused by KLF8 expression or TGF-β treatment was summarized in D. *P < 0.01 compared to the uninduced or untreated cells.