Notch inhibition suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma by depleting cancer stem-like side population cells.

The cancer stem cell (CSC) is responsible for the initiation, proliferation and radiation resistance. Side population (SP) cells are a rare subset of cells enriched with CSCs. The targeting of key signaling pathways that are active in CSCs is a therapeutic approach to treating cancer. Notch signaling is important for the self-renewal and maintenance of stem cells. Our previous studies demonstrated that downregulation of Notch signaling could enhance radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. In this study, we found that Notch signaling was highly activated in SP cells compared with that of non-SP (NSP) cells of NPC. Therefore, Notch inhibition could reduce the proportion of SP cells. As SP cells decreased, proliferation, anti-apoptosis and tumorigenesis were also decreased. This study shows that Notch inhibition may be a promising clinical approach in CSC-targeting therapy for NPC.