Figures & data
Figure 1. Vaccination-mediated selection and enrichment of Nanog+ tumor cells resistant to antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. In this model, the tumor initially comprises a major population of Nanog− cells and a minor population of Nanog+ cells. Immune selection—first instigated by natural host immunosurveillance and then reinforced by vaccination—drives the preferential survival and expansion of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-resistant Nanog+ cancer cells. These Nanog+ malignant cells, in turn, mediate the immune-resistant and stem-like phenotype of the tumor and drive therapeutic failure and disease progression.
