Molecular biology of breast cancer stem cells: Potential clinical applications

Adipose mesenchymal stromal cells minimize and repair radiation-induced oral mucositis

“…We examined the radio-biological response of mouse aMSCs in comparison to a highly metastatic mesenchymal-like triple negative mouse breast cancer 4T1 cell line as a cancer cell model which possesses a considerable population of CSC [109,182] with its evident resistance to IR [110,183]; a resistance that is hypothesized to be mediated by G2/M arrest [110], and normal mouse fibroblast NIH3T3-wt cell line as a normal cell model after exposure to IR.…”

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) confers primary resistance to trastuzumab (Herceptin)

“…[1][2][3][4][5] The CS-like cells isolated from breast carcinomas intrinsically possess a high resistance to hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and, consequently, appear to be highly prevalent at the invasive edge of breast carcinomas following treatment with conventional therapies. [6][7][8][9][10][11] The rate of inherent resistance to single-agent trastuzumab in HeR2-overexpressing metastatic breast carcinomas is impressive at above 70%. Unfortunately, little is known regarding the distinctive genetic signatures that could predict trastuzumab refractoriness ab initio.…”

Marine sponge‐derived smenospongine preferentially eliminates breast cancer stem‐like cells via p38/AMPKα pathways

“…Emerging evidence in recent years has demonstrated the existence of breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) that plays a critical role in oncogenesis, progression, relapse, and metastasis 3, 4, 5. CSCs are usually resistant to conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapeutic agents and radiation ultimately resulting in treatment failure 6, 7.…”