Cancer stem cells and cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumour cells that possess the stem cell properties of self-renewal and differentiation. Stem cells might be the target cells responsible for malignant transformation, and tumour formation may be a disorder of stem cell self-renewal pathway. Epigenetic alterations and mutations of genes involved in signal transmissions may promote the formation of CSCs. These cells have been identified in many solid tumours including breast, brain, lung, prostate, testis, ovary, colon, skin, liver, and also in acute myeloid leukaemia. The CSC theory clarifies not only the issue of tumour initiation, development, metastasis and relapse, but also the ineffectiveness of conventional cancer therapies. Treatments directed against the bulk of the cancer cells may produce striking responses but they are unlikely to result in long-term remissions if the rare CSCs are not targeted. In this review, we consider the properties of CSCs and possible strategies for controlling the viability and tumourigenecity of these cells, including therapeutic models for selective elimination of CSCs and induction of their proper differentiation.

Estradiol, TGF-β1 and hypoxia promote breast cancer stemness and EMT-mediated breast cancer migration

“…CSCs possess the stem cell properties of self-renewal and differentiation; therefore, tumors may be initiated, grow, invade and metastasize (31). Anticancer therapies at present emphasize killing CSCs or inhibiting the induction of the CSC population (32,33).…”

“…CSCs are hypothesized to demonstrate resistance to chemo-and radiotherapy (31), and ABCG2 is a key regulator of chemoresistance (49). The results of the present study indicated that ABCG2 expression increased significantly while screening target proteins that were induced by treatment with TGF-β1, E2 and hypoxia ( Fig.…”

Application of Stem Cells in Targeted Therapy of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

“…In addition to surface markers, CSCs share some key signaling pathways with normal stem cells which can be mutated in CSCs and be considered as attractive targets for cancer therapies (Soltanian and Matin, 2011). A distinguished understanding of signaling pathways between normal and CSCs is required to prevent destroying normal stem cells, as this is the key point to perfect accomplishment of anti-CSC therapies (Deonarain et al, 2009).…”

Hematopoietic Stem Cell in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Development

“…However, the major difference between cancer growth and normal tissue renewal is that whereas normal transit amplifying cells usually differentiate and die, at various levels of differentiation, the cancer transit-amplifying cells fail to differentiate normally and instead, accumulate (i.e. they undergo maturation arrest), resulting in cancer growth (Soltanian & Matin, 2011).…”

“…Oct-4, a member of the family of POU-domain transcription factors, is expressed in pluripotent embryonic stem and germ cells. Oct-4 mRNA is normally found in totipotent and pluripotent stem cells of pregastrulation embryos (Soltanian & Matin, 2011). Expression of this factor plays a crucial role in maintaining the self-renewing, cancer stem-cell-like, and chemoradioresistant properties in lung cancer-derived CD133+ cells (Chen et al, 2008).…”