Gil Justyna, Stembalska Agnieszka, Pesz Karolina A, Sasiadek Maria M
Department of Genetics, Medical University of Wroclaw,Wroclaw, Poland.
J Appl Genet. 2008;49(2):193-9. doi: 10.1007/BF03195612.
The cancer stem cell theory elucidates not only the issue of tumour initiation and development, tumour's ability to metastasise and reoccur, but also the ineffectiveness of conventional cancer therapy. This review examines stem cell properties, such as self-renewal, heterogeneity, and resistance to apoptosis. The 'niche' hypothesis is presented, and mechanisms of division, differentiation, self-renewal and signalling pathway regulation are explained. Epigenetic alterations and mutations of genes responsible for signal transmission may promote the formation of cancer stem cells. We also present the history of development of the cancer stem cell theory and discuss the experiments that led to the discovery and confirmation of the existence of cancer stem cells. Potential clinical applications are also considered, including therapeutic models aimed at selective elimination of cancer stem cells or induction of their proper differentiation.
癌症干细胞理论不仅阐明了肿瘤起始与发展、肿瘤转移及复发能力的问题，还揭示了传统癌症治疗方法无效的原因。本综述探讨了干细胞的特性，如自我更新、异质性和抗凋亡能力。文中提出了“生态位”假说，并解释了细胞分裂、分化、自我更新及信号通路调控的机制。负责信号传递的基因发生表观遗传改变和突变可能会促进癌症干细胞的形成。我们还介绍了癌症干细胞理论的发展历程，并讨论了导致发现和证实癌症干细胞存在的实验。同时也考虑了潜在的临床应用，包括旨在选择性消除癌症干细胞或诱导其正常分化的治疗模型。
