University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.
Mol Cancer Ther. 2010 Sep;9(9):2450-7. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-10-0530. Epub 2010 Aug 17.
Small populations within an increasing array of solid tumors, labeled cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor-initiating cells (TIC), have the ability to differentiate, self-renew, and replicate the original tumor in vivo. To date, these cells have been distinguished from the bulk-tumor population by the expression pattern of cell-surface proteins (e.g., CD24, CD44, CD133) and cellular activities, such as the efflux of Hoechst dye or aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. Recent data have shown that these markers are inducible by exposure to anticancer agents; this finding highlights not only the potential fluidity of the CSC compartment, but also the functionality of these markers. The involvement of CD44 in invasion, adhesion, and metastasis, or the role of CD24 in modulation of src, FAK, and GLI1 are examples of these relevant roles. Instead of looking solely at the marker expression in these populations, we hope to clarify the biologically significant roles these markers and activities play in tumor progression, metastases, and as possible targets for therapy.
在越来越多的实体肿瘤中，存在着一小部分被标记为癌症干细胞（CSC）或肿瘤起始细胞（TIC）的细胞，它们具有分化、自我更新和在体内复制原始肿瘤的能力。迄今为止，这些细胞已经通过细胞表面蛋白（例如 CD24、CD44、CD133）的表达模式和细胞活性（例如 Hoechst 染料外排或醛脱氢酶活性）与肿瘤的大部分细胞区分开来。最近的数据表明，这些标记物可通过暴露于抗癌药物而被诱导；这一发现不仅突出了 CSC 区室的潜在流动性，还突出了这些标记物的功能。CD44 参与侵袭、黏附和转移，或 CD24 调节 src、FAK 和 GLI1 的作用就是这些相关作用的例子。我们希望阐明这些标记物和活性在肿瘤进展、转移以及作为可能的治疗靶点方面所发挥的生物学意义上的作用，而不是仅仅关注这些群体中的标记物表达。
