HuCCT-1 and CCLP-1 CSCs have elevated expression of immune modulators. (A–F) qRT-PCR analysis showed upregulation of immune modulators NT5E, LGALS9, FASLG, TNFRSF14 and VTCN1 in HuCCT-1 spheres compared with the parental adherent HuCCT-1 cells. (G–J) Increased expression of immune modulators NT5E, LGALS9, FASLG and TNFRSF14 was detected in mRNA from CCLP-1 spheres versus the parental adherent cells. (K) Western blots demonstrated the upregulation of NT5E and LGALS9 in both HuCCT-1 and CCLP-1 spheres versus the adherent parental cells. (L) Graphs represent quantification of Western blot analyses. Values are mean ± SD of three experiments in triplicate (* p < 0.05, *** p < 0.005, **** p < 0.001, ns: not significant). ActB: β-Actin.