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Related Concept Videos

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...
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:...
Stem Cell Niche01:26

Stem Cell Niche

The stem cell niche is the dynamic microenvironment where stem cells reside. Inside these niches, the cells may remain undifferentiated, undergo high self-renewal, or become lineage-specific progenitors. Stem cells coexist with other niche cells, such as stromal cells. They also interact closely with the ECM. Cell-cell and cell-matrix communication occur via adhesion molecules or soluble factors that signal the stem cells and determine their fate. Stromal cells also provide survival signals to...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Multipotency of Hematopoietic Stem Cells01:19

Multipotency of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

The hematopoietic stem cells or HSCs are multipotent, meaning they can differentiate and give rise to all blood and immune cells. HSCs are maintained in the quiescent stage until an external stimulus initiates their differentiation. The multipotent HSCs exist as two heterogeneous populations, long-term repopulating cells (LTRC) and short-term repopulating cells (STRC). The two HSC populations have different surface markers or receptors and are classified based on quiescence and long-term...

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Studying Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics for Developing New Treatment Strategies
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Cancer stem cells: distinct entities or dynamically regulated phenotypes?

Yunqing Li1, John Laterra

  • 1Hugo W Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, and Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. liyu@kennedykrieger.org

Cancer Research
|February 3, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) and progenitor cells can convert into each other. Understanding this dynamic balance is key to developing new cancer therapies targeting resistant tumor cells.

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Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The origins and relationship between cancer stem cells (CSCs) and non-stem tumor cells (transit-amplifying progenitor cells) are not fully understood.
  • Recent research indicates that cancer progenitor cells can dedifferentiate into CSCs via genetic or environmental influences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review emerging concepts of the stem-like phenotype in cancer.
  • To discuss the acquisition of stem-like properties by cancer progenitor cells.
  • To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying CSC-progenitor cell dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • This review synthesizes findings from multiple laboratories.
  • It discusses current concepts and molecular mechanisms related to cancer stem cell plasticity.

Main Results:

  • Cancer progenitor cells possess the ability to dedifferentiate and gain stem-like characteristics.
  • CSCs and differentiated progenitor cells exist in a dynamic equilibrium, capable of bidirectional conversion.

Conclusions:

  • The dynamic interplay between CSCs and cancer progenitor cells is crucial for tumor propagation and treatment resistance.
  • Understanding this equilibrium is vital for developing effective therapeutic strategies to eliminate therapy-resistant cancer cell populations.