FIGURE 4.

Docetaxel/fenofibrate (DCX/FF)‐treatment activates the generation of PGCs. A, FACS analyses of the abundance of CD133⁺ and/or CD44⁺ cells in the populations of wild‐type and DCX‐resistant DU145 lineages under DCX/FF stress. Compensated dot‐plots comprise 50 000 events, classified based on their bright‐field ratios and nuclear contrast. The values in the plots represent relative stem cell‐like (SCL) fractions. Dotted lines in bar plot illustrate SCL percentages in control (100%) and after DCX treatment. B, DU145 cells were cultivated in the presence of DCX/FF for 48 hours, stained against vinculin (green), F‐actin (red), and DNA (blue) to show polymorphonuclear cells. C, Cells were treated as in B, followed by their staining against CD44, Oct3/4, Nanog and CD44, and polymorphonuclear cells were vizualized with fluorescence microscopy. Scale bars = 50 μm. D, Clonogenic potential of CD44⁺ SCL cells derived from wild‐type and DCX‐resistant DU145 populations cultivated in the presence of DCX/FF. Horizontal lines above bars represent plating values upon DCX treatment. Scale bar = 2 mm. The statistical significance of the differences was tested with t‐Student test (A, D; #P ≤ .05 vs untreated control; *P ≤ .05 vs wild‐type [WT] lineage[s] or selected bars). All results are representative of a least three independent experiments (N ≥ 3). Note the increased fraction of PGCs and the abundance of CD44⁺ cells in DCX/FF‐treated cell populations