CD133 Negatively Regulates Tumorigenicity via AKT Pathway in Synovial Sarcoma

Synovial sarcoma is an aggressive tumor which accounts for almost 10% of all soft tissue sarcomas. In this study, we found the expression of CD133 in human synovial sarcoma specimens, thus we focused on the function of CD133 in synovial sarcoma. Separation of the CD133-positive and -negative subpopulations in synovial sarcoma cell lines clarified that the CD133-negative subpopulation exhibited enhanced growth and hyperphosphorylation of AKT. Treatment of Akt inhibitor suppressed the cell growth of CD133-negative subpopulation to the levels of CD133-positive cells. These results suggest that CD133 has negative effect on the growth of cells through AKT-dependent signalling pathway