Characterization of breast cancer stem cell like spheroids.

<p>(A) Expression of cell surface markers CD44 and CD24 in MCF-7 monolayer and spheroids. (i) Immunofluorescence images showing expression of CD44 in MCF-7 monolayer cells (upper panel) and in MCF-7 spheroid cells (lower panel). Cells were stained with PE-conjugated CD44 antibody and imaged as described in the methods section. (ii) Flow cytometric analyses of CD44/CD24 in monolayer MCF-7 cells (left panel) and in MCF-7 spheroids (right panel). (B) Formation of primary and secondary spheres by MCF7 cells. Image was taken in 10X in an Olympus IX71 microscope.