Fig. 1

Tumor-initiation ability of MUC1⁻ESA⁺ cells sorted from mammary epithelium. a. MUC1⁻ESA⁺ subpopulation accounts for 1.35 % of MCF-10A cells when being sorted, and 8.34 % in serum-free culture on day 10. b. In the 2-D culture, sorted MUC1⁻ESA⁺ cells show three types of colonies including myoepithelial, luminal and mixed colonies, while the control cells (MCF-10A excluding MUC1⁻ESA⁺) displayed a unique type of colonies. c. The number of colonies and histogram of panel B (*, compared with the control, n = 6, P < 0.05). d. In the 3-D matrigel culture, sorted MUC1⁻ESA⁺ cells proliferate into colonies with duct-like structures and myoepithelial marker K14-DyLight 594 expression