Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are predicted to be critical drivers of tumor progression due to their "stemness", but the molecular mechanism of CSCs in regulating metastasis remains to be elucidated. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1a, and miR-21, all of which contribute to cell migration for metastasis, are interrelated with CSCs. In the present study, third-sphere forming (3-S) CSC-like cells, which showed elevated CSC surface markers (ALDH1 + and CD44) and sphereforming capacity as well as migration and invasion capacities, were cultured and isolated from breast cancer MCF-7 parental cells, to evaluate the role of miR-21 in regulating the CSC-like cell biological features, especially EMT. EMT, which was assessed by overexpression of mesenchymal cell markers (N-cadherin, Vimentin, alpha-smooth muscle actin [a-SMA]) and suppression of epithelial cell marker (E-cadherin), was induced in 3-S CSC-like cells. Moreover, both of HIF-1a and miR-21 were upregulated in the CSC-like cells. Interestingly, antagonism of miR-21 by antagomir led to reversal of EMT, downexpression of HIF-1a, as well as suppression of invasion and migration, which indicates a key role of miR-21 involved in regulate CSC-associated features. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the formation of CSC-like cells undergoing process of EMT-like associated with overexpression of HIF-1a, both of which are regulated by miR-21. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 1058-1064 C ancer stem cells (CSCs) are predicted to be the cell origin of the tumor and responsible for tumor progression, relapse and metastasis due to their self-renewal capacity and limitless proliferative potential, as well as invasion and migration capacity.(1-5) Therefore, the development of successful cancer therapeutic regimen requires targeting the CSCs, such as the elucidation of molecular pathways, which regulate CSC features.Recently, breast cancer cells forming mammospheres in suspension cultures were generally acknowledged as breast cancer CSCs (bCSCs) due to their self-renewal capacity, (6,7) while mammospheres were also accepted as bCSC-like cell models, enriching bCSCs. Besides, bCSCs also could be identified and isolated according to cell surface markers such as aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 + (ALDH1 (1) But now, the isolation and culture of high-purity bCSC model is still one of the "choke points" in bCSC research.For most epithelial tumors, including breast cancer, progression toward malignancy is accompanied by a process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is characterized by a loss of epithelial differentiation and a shift towards mesenchymal phenotype.(8) The EMT towards a more mesenchymal phenotype involves downexpression of epithelial markers (e.g. E-cadherin and Keratins) and upexpression of mesenchymal markers (e.g. N-cadherin, Vimentin, alphasmooth muscle actin [a-SMA]), as well as increased cell mobility and invasive phenotype.(9-11) Accumulating evidence demonstrated that the induction of EMT in vitro in transformed mammary epithelial...