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. 2019 Aug 7;11(8):1128. doi: 10.3390/cancers11081128

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© 2019 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Epithelial, Mesenchymal, and Hybrid triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cancer stem cells (CSCs). TNBC mesenchymal (M) CSCs are characterized by CD44⁺/CD24⁻ with elevated levels of Yes associated protein (YAP), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), and enhanced gluconeogenesis and glycolysis. Conversely, TNBC epithelial (E) CSCs are characterized by ALDH⁺ with elevated levels of Wnt, NF-κB, hypoxia, enhanced glutathione metabolism, and oxidative phosphorylation. Epithelial and mesenchymal CSCs exhibited plasticity and were interconvertible. Recent studies have revealed that hybrid E/M CSCs are more tumorigenic than complete E and M counterparts and may be capable of differentiating into complete epithelial or mesenchymal CSCs. Plasticity amongst three states of CSCs needs to be considered for the development of effective therapeutic strategies for TNBC.