Meanwhile, the proportion of CD90+/CD271+ cells and tumorsphere-forming capability of miR-455-3p-transduced cells decreased via inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β/Smad pathways upon treatment with their respective inhibitors (Additional file 5: Figure S4D and E), demonstrating that these two pathways are required for the miR-455-3p-induced T-IC traits of ESCC. Here, TGFB1 is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.