{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T05:15:49Z","timestamp":1788239749015,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":107,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Metastasis, chemoresistance, and tumour recurrence are facilitated by cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small subpopulation of cells capable of regenerating a primary tumour while maintaining the tumour\u2019s genetic and phenotypic features. CSCs can be identified by the expression of specific markers; however, the CSC population in ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC), a rare histotype of ovarian cancer, remains poorly defined. Given the well-established role that CSCs play in cancer progression and metastasis, it is critical to identify reliable markers of CSCs in OCCC. Here, we endeavoured to determine whether ALDH1 expression could be used to define OCCC stem cells in OCCC cell lines using a variety of methods including assessing ALDH1A1 expression in spheroids generated under distinct conditions. We also generated and used chemo-resistant cell lines to assess the enrichment of cancer stem cells. Human OCCC cell lines were enriched for CSCs using selective culture conditions and drug resistance methods. CSC-enriched spheroids demonstrated increased expression of stemness markers NANOG and SOX2, while ALDH1A1 expression was enriched only in drug-resistant cell lines, relative to parental cell lines. RNA-seq analyses of CSC-media-derived spheroids versus standard media spheroids provided novel data supporting CSC enrichment and identified transcription factors induced by CSC media. These findings highlight the ambiguous role of ALDH1A1 as a CSC marker in OCCC and demonstrates the utility of CSC enrichment methods for identifying CSC populations in OCCC cell lines.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15171509","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T08:03:41Z","timestamp":1787558621000},"page":"1509","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploring the Utility of ALDH1 as a Marker for the Cancer Stem Cell Population in OCCC Cell Lines"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Blane","family":"Gebreyes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Mary & John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, Verspeeten Family Cancer Center, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0607-5858","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bart","family":"Kolendowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mary & John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, Verspeeten Family Cancer Center, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yudith","family":"Ramos-Valdes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mary & John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, Verspeeten Family Cancer Center, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Trevor G.","family":"Shepherd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mary & John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, Verspeeten Family Cancer Center, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Oncology, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2796-9941","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriel E.","family":"DiMattia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mary & John Knight Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, Verspeeten Family Cancer Center, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"},{"name":"London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4L6, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Oncology, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E526","DOI":"10.1503\/cmaj.252152","article-title":"Projected estimates of cancer in Canada in 2026","volume":"198","author":"Brenner","year":"2026","journal-title":"Can. 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