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Related Concept Videos

Distinctive Features of Adult Stem Cells vs Cancer Stem Cells01:18

Distinctive Features of Adult Stem Cells vs Cancer Stem Cells

A stem cell is an unspecialized cell that can divide without limit as needed and can, under specific conditions, differentiate into specialized cells.
Adult stem cells
Adult stem cells are tissue-specific; hence, they divide to develop the tissue from which they originate. One type of adult stem cell is the epithelial stem cell, which gives rise to the keratinocytes in the multiple layers of epithelial cells in the epidermis of the skin. Adult bone marrow has three distinct types of stem cells:...
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance02:40

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance

Early diagnosis and treatment can often cure cancer. However, even with treatment, residual cells called cancer stem cells (CSC) might remain, often causing tumor recurrence. These cancer stem cells possess the potential for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and are often responsible for the therapeutic resistance displayed in most cancers.
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance02:40

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance

Early diagnosis and treatment can often cure cancer. However, even with treatment, residual cells called cancer stem cells (CSC) might remain, often causing tumor recurrence. These cancer stem cells possess the potential for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and are often responsible for the therapeutic resistance displayed in most cancers.
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic cells are...
Mesenchymal Stem Cells01:19

Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells that can differentiate into most connective tissue cell types, except for hematopoietic cells, depending upon the source of MSCs. For example, bone-marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) can differentiate into osteocytes, hepatocytes, and pancreatic and neuronal cells. MSCs can be isolated from various sources such as bone marrow, placenta, adipose tissue, teeth, and Wharton’s jelly, a gelatinous substance in the umbilical cord. The ease of their access...
Embryonic Stem Cells00:58

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.

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Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
11:28

Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics

Published on: May 11, 2016

Embryonic stem cell markers expression in cancers.

Matthieu Schoenhals1, Alboukadel Kassambara, John De Vos

  • 1INSERM, U847, Montpellier, France.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|March 10, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Four key pluripotency factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc) are overexpressed in many cancers. This suggests their role in cancer stem cell self-renewal and tumor progression, offering potential therapeutic targets.

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Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

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Published on: February 18, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Stem cell biology
  • Cancer research
  • Molecular oncology

Background:

  • Embryonic stem (ES) cells express Oct4 and Sox2.
  • Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc induce pluripotency in somatic cells.
  • Self-renewal is a characteristic of stem cells and cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the expression of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc in human tumors versus normal tissues.
  • To investigate the role of these factors in cancer stem cell biology.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of publicly available gene expression data.
  • Utilized the Oncomine Cancer Microarray database.
  • Compared gene expression across 40 human tumor types and their normal counterparts.

Main Results:

  • Significant overexpression of at least one of the four pluripotency factors was found in 18 out of 40 cancer types.
  • These genes were associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis within specific cancer types.
  • Overexpression may contribute to the self-renewal of cancer stem cells.

Conclusions:

  • Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc are frequently overexpressed in various human cancers.
  • Their aberrant expression is linked to cancer progression and potentially cancer stem cell self-renewal.
  • These findings highlight the role of stemness programming in cancer pathogenesis.