Figure 1.

The self-renewal (A-D) and the differential (E-G) potential of stem-like cells enriched in vitro as cancer mammospheres of 2 breast cancer cell lines. (A) MCF-7 and (B) MDA-MB-231 grown under undifferentiated conditions in an anchorage-independent manner to form floating 3D mammospheres of generation 1 (G1). In vitro serial passages of mammosphere of MCF-7 (C) and MDA-MB-231 (D) up to generation 4 (G4), indicating cells with stem cell-like properties and self-renewal potential. The differential potential of breast cancer stem cell-like cells from mammospheres tested on a 3 dimensional clonal cultivation system containing Matrigel under differentiated conditions. MCF-7 showing branched, ductal-acinar structure (E) and acinar structures (F); MDA-MB-231 showing mixed lineage colonies with existence of clear branched, ductal-acinar structure (G). Photographs were taken at 10x magnification.