Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
Published on: May 11, 2016
On the epigenetic origin of cancer stem cells
Audrey Vincent1, Isabelle Van Seuningen
1Inserm, UMR837, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Centre, Team 5 "Mucins, epithelial differentiation and carcinogenesis", Lille, France.
Abstract:
Epigenetic mechanisms are the key component of the dynamic transcriptional programming that occurs along the process of differentiation from normal stem cells to more specialized cells. In the development of cancer and according to the cancer stem cell model, aberrant epigenetic changes may ensure the property of cancer cells to switch cancer stem cell markers on and off in order to generate a heterogeneous population of cells. The tumour will then be composed of tumourigenic (cancer stem cells) and non-tumourigenic (the side population that constitutes the bulk of the tumour) cells. Characterizing epigenetic landscapes may thus help discriminate aberrant marks (good candidates for tumour detection) from cancer stem cell specific profiles. In this review, we will give some insights about what epigenetics can teach us about the origin of cancer stem cells. We will also discuss how identification of epigenetic reprogramming may help designing new drugs that will specifically target cancer stem cells.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
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 Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Epigenetic Regulation
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

