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. 2016 Apr 7;7(19):28329–28339. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.8631

Figure 1. Metabolic activity of HDACi-CSCs and differentiated breast cancer cells.

Figure 1

(A) The histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors valproic acid (VA) and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) reprogram differentiated cancer cells into chemoresistant, quiescent cancer stem-like cells (designated here HDACi-CSCs). ○ALDH−; ●ALDH+. (B and C) An MTT assay showed that treating ALDH− (B) and ALDH+ (C) SUM159 cells with HDAC inhibitors for 7 days significantly increased their metabolic activity compared with vehicle-treated cells. (D and E) Flow cytometric analysis of glucose uptake using the glucose analog 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diaxol-4-yl) amino]-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG) in ALDH− (D) and ALDH+ (E) cells treated with HDAC inhibitors versus vehicle-treated controls. Glucose uptake of HDACi-CSCs was significantly higher than that of differentiated cells. (F) Glucose uptake significantly higher in untreated ALDH+ versus ALDH− cells. (G and H) Lactate production, analyzed with a lactate colorimetric assay, revealed no differences in lactate levels in ALDH− (G) or ALDH+ (H) cells treated with HDAC inhibitors versus vehicle-treated controls. (I) No difference in lactate production was observed in untreated ALDH+ versus ALDH− cells.