scholarly journals Molecular mechanisms controlling asymmetric and symmetric self-renewal of cancer stem cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Dong Yoo ◽  
Yong Tae Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Self Renewal

STEM-14. THE WRAD COMPLEX REPRESENTS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR CANCER STEM CELLS IN GLIOBLASTOMA

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi23-vi24
Author(s):  
Kelly Mitchell ◽  
Joseph Alvarado ◽  
Christopher Goins ◽  
Steven Martinez ◽  
Jonathan Macdonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Concentration Dependent Manner ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Stem Cell Maintenance ◽  
Cell Maintenance

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) progression and resistance to conventional therapies is driven in part by cells within the tumor with stem cell properties including quiescence, self-renewal and drug efflux potential. It is thought that eliminating these cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a key component to successful clinical management of GBM. However, currently, few known molecular mechanisms driving CSCs can be exploited for therapeutic development. Core transcription factors such as SOX2, OLIG2, OCT4 and NANOG maintain the CSC state in GBM. Our laboratory recently uncovered a self-renewal signaling axis involving RBBP5 that is necessary and sufficient for CSC maintenance through driving expression of these core stem cell maintenance transcription factors. RBBP5 is a component of the WRAD complex, which promotes Lys4 methylation of histone H3 to positively regulate transcription. We hypothesized that targeting RBBP5 could be a means to disrupt epigenetic programs that maintain CSCs in stemness transcriptional states. We found that genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of the WRAD complex reduced CSC growth, self-renewal and tumor initiation potential. WRAD inhibitors partially dissembled the WRAD complex and reduced H3K4 trimethylation both globally and at the promoters of key stem cell maintenance transcription factors. Using a CSC reporter system, we demonstrated that WRAD complex inhibition decreased growth of SOX2/OCT4 expressing CSCs in a concentration-dependent manner as quantified by live imaging. Overall, our studies assess the function of the WRAD complex and the effect of WRAD complex inhibitors in preclinical models and specifically on the stem cell state for the first time in GBM. Studying the functions of the WRAD complex in CSCs may improve understanding of GBM pathogenesis and elucidate how CSCs survive despite aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. Our ongoing studies aim to develop brain penetrant inhibitors targeting the WRAD complex as an anti-CSC strategy that could potentially synergize with standard of care treatments.

scholarly journals IL-17B/IL-17RB signaling cascade contributes to self-renewal and tumorigenesis of cancer stem cells by regulating Beclin-1 ubiquitination

Oncogene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingli Bie ◽  
Hui Song ◽  
Xinke Chen ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
Shuo Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor ◽  
Beclin 1 ◽  
Signaling Cascade ◽  
Interleukin 17 ◽  
Self Renewal

AbstractCancer stem cells (CSCs) are characterized by robust self-renewal and tumorigenesis and are responsible for metastasis, drug resistance, and angiogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms for the regulation of CSC homeostasis are incompletely understood. This study demonstrated that the interleukin-17 (IL-17)B/IL-17RB signaling cascade promotes the self-renewal and tumorigenesis of CSCs by inducing Beclin-1 ubiquitination. We found that IL-17RB expression was significantly upregulated in spheroid cells and Lgr5-positive cells from the same tumor tissues of patients with gastric cancer (GC), which was closely correlated with the degree of cancer cell differentiation. Recombinant IL-17B (rIL-17B) promoted the sphere-formation ability of CSCs in vitro and enhanced tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Interestingly, IL-17B induced autophagosome formation and cleavage-mediated transformation of LC3 in CSCs and 293T cells. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy activation by ATG7 knockdown reversed rIL-17B-induced self-renewal of GC cells. In addition, we showed that IL-17B also promoted K63-mediated ubiquitination of Beclin-1 by mediating the binding of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 to Beclin-1. Silencing IL-17RB expression abrogated the effects of IL-17B on Beclin-1 ubiquitination and autophagy activation in GC cells. Finally, we showed that IL-17B level in the serum of GC patients was positively correlated with IL-17RB expression in GC tissues, and IL-17B could induce IL-17RB expression in GC cells. Overall, the results elucidate the novel functions of IL-17B for CSCs and suggest that the intervention of the IL-17B/IL-17RB signaling pathway may provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer.

scholarly journals Cancer Stem Cells—Key Players in Tumor Relapse

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 376
Author(s):  
Monica Marzagalli ◽  
Fabrizio Fontana ◽  
Michela Raimondi ◽  
Patrizia Limonta
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Treatment Failure ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Therapeutic Strategies ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Tumor Relapse ◽  
Effective Drugs ◽  
Adaptive Abilities

Tumor relapse and treatment failure are unfortunately common events for cancer patients, thus often rendering cancer an uncurable disease. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subset of cancer cells endowed with tumor-initiating and self-renewal capacity, as well as with high adaptive abilities. Altogether, these features contribute to CSC survival after one or multiple therapeutic approaches, thus leading to treatment failure and tumor progression/relapse. Thus, elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with stemness-driven resistance is crucial for the development of more effective drugs and durable responses. This review will highlight the mechanisms exploited by CSCs to overcome different therapeutic strategies, from chemo- and radiotherapies to targeted therapies and immunotherapies, shedding light on their plasticity as an insidious trait responsible for their adaptation/escape. Finally, novel CSC-specific approaches will be described, providing evidence of their preclinical and clinical applications.

scholarly journals Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Park ◽  
Choi ◽  
Nam
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Triple Negative ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
The Future

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer that lacks targeted therapy options, and patients diagnosed with TNBC have poorer outcomes than patients with other breast cancer subtypes. Emerging evidence suggests that breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), which have tumor-initiating potential and possess self-renewal capacity, may be responsible for this poor outcome by promoting therapy resistance, metastasis, and recurrence. TNBC cells have been consistently reported to display cancer stem cell (CSC) signatures at functional, molecular, and transcriptional levels. In recent decades, CSC-targeting strategies have shown therapeutic effects on TNBC in multiple preclinical studies, and some of these strategies are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Therefore, understanding CSC biology in TNBC has the potential to guide the discovery of novel therapeutic agents in the future. In this review, we focus on the self-renewal signaling pathways (SRSPs) that are aberrantly activated in TNBC cells and discuss the specific signaling components that are involved in the tumor-initiating potential of TNBC cells. Additionally, we describe the molecular mechanisms shared by both TNBC cells and CSCs, including metabolic plasticity, which enables TNBC cells to switch between metabolic pathways according to substrate availability to meet the energetic and biosynthetic demands for rapid growth and survival under harsh conditions. We highlight CSCs as potential key regulators driving the aggressiveness of TNBC. Thus, the manipulation of CSCs in TNBC can be a targeted therapeutic strategy for TNBC in the future.

scholarly journals LncRNAs and microRNAs as Essential Regulators of Stemness in Breast Cancer Stem Cells

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Nadia Flores-Huerta ◽  
Macrina B. Silva-Cázares ◽  
Lourdes A. Arriaga-Pizano ◽  
Jessica L. Prieto-Chávez ◽  
César López-Camarillo
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Breast Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Tumor Initiating Cells ◽  
Aberrant Expression ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Non Coding Rnas

Breast cancer is an aggressive disease with a high incidence in women worldwide. Two decades ago, a controversial hypothesis was proposed that cancer arises from a subpopulation of “tumor initiating cells” or “cancer stem cells-like” (CSC). Today, CSC are defined as small subset of somatic cancer cells within a tumor with self-renewal properties driven by the aberrant expression of genes involved in the maintenance of a stemness-like phenotype. The understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the maintenance of CSC subpopulation are fundamental in the development and persistence of breast cancer. Nowadays, the hypothesis suggests that genetic and epigenetic alterations give rise to breast cancer stem cells (bCSC), which are responsible for self-renewal, tumor growth, chemoresistance, poor prognosis and low survival in patients. However, the prominence of bCSC, as well as the molecular mechanisms that regulates and promotes the malignant phenotypes, are still poorly understood. The role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes has been recently highlighted by a plethora of studies in breast cancer. These ncRNAs positively or negatively impact on different signaling pathways that govern the cancer hallmarks associated with bCSC, making them attractive targets for therapy. In this review, we present a current summary of the studies on the pivotal roles of lncRNAs and microRNAs in the regulation of genes associated to stemness of bCSC.

Integrin α6 (CD49f), The Microenvironment and Cancer Stem Cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 428-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele D. Bigoni-Ordóñez ◽  
Daniel Czarnowski ◽  
Tyler Parsons ◽  
Gerard J. Madlambayan ◽  
Luis G. Villa-Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cell ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Terminal Disease

Cancer is a highly prevalent and potentially terminal disease that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Here, we review the literature exploring the intricacies of stem cells bearing tumorigenic characteristics and collect evidence demonstrating the importance of integrin α6 (ITGA6, also known as CD49f) in cancer stem cell (CSC) activity. ITGA6 is commonly used to identify CSC populations in various tissues and plays an important role sustaining the self-renewal of CSCs by interconnecting them with the tumorigenic microenvironment.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Functions of Cellular Markers Associated with the Phenotype of Cancer Stem Cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Alvarado-Ortiz ◽  
Miguel Á. Sarabia-Sánchez ◽  
Alejandro García-Carrancá
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Tumor Biology ◽  
Molecular Tools ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Cellular Population ◽  
Cellular Markers ◽  
A Minor

Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) generally constitute a minor cellular population within tumors that exhibits some capacities of normal Stem Cells (SC). The existence of CSC, able to self-renew and differentiate, influences central aspects of tumor biology, in part because they can continue tumor growth, give rise to metastasis, and acquire drug and radioresistance, which open new avenues for therapeutics. It is well known that SC constantly interacts with their niche, which includes mesenchymal cells, extracellular ligands, and the Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM). These interactions regularly lead to homeostasis and maintenance of SC characteristics. However, the exact participation of each of these components for CSC maintenance is not clear, as they appear to be context- or cell-specific. In the recent past, surface cellular markers have been fundamental molecular tools for identifying CSC and distinguishing them from other tumor cells. Importantly, some of these cellular markers have been shown to possess functional roles that affect central aspects of CSC. Likewise, some of these markers can participate in regulating the interaction of CSC with their niche, particularly the ECM. We focused this review on the molecular mechanisms of surface cellular markers commonly employed to identify CSC, highlighting the signaling pathways and mechanisms involved in CSC-ECM interactions, through each of the cellular markers commonly used in the study of CSC, such as CD44, CD133, CD49f, CD24, CXCR4, and LGR5. Their presence does not necessarily implicate them in CSC biology.

Cancer stemness as a target for immunotherapy is shaped by pro-inflammatory stress.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nese Unver
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Tumor Recurrence ◽  
Inflammatory Factors ◽  
Cancer Stemness ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Inflammatory Stress ◽  
Factors Affecting

: Cancer stem cells represent a rare subpopulation of cancer cells carrying self-renewal and differentiation features in the multi-step tumorigenesis, tumor recurrence and metastasis. Pro-inflammatory stress is highly associated with cancer stemness via induction of cytokines, tumor-promoting immune cells and cancer stemness-related signaling pathways. This review summarizes the major pro-inflammatory factors affecting cancer stem cell characteristics and the critical immunotherapeutic strategies to eliminate cancer stem cells.

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