Oncology Research, Science and Technology Park, IRCCS MultiMedica, Via Fantoli 16/15, Milan, Italy.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2011 Feb 1;12(2):171-81. doi: 10.2174/138920111794295756.
The idea of cancer stem cell (CSC) has recently moved to the forefront of cancer research. There is still a lack of a widespread consensus on their description and definition. ,The increasing literature on CSCs has compelled researchers worldwide to rewrite the natural history of cancer including those cells as principal players as well as to revise their views on tumor formation and progression. CSCs are tumor cell components that can initiate a new tumor after an apparent therapeutic eradication. A functional definition of cancer stem cell or cancer initiating cell is that of a cell which, when transplanted in a mouse model, can give rise to a tumor recapitulating the original one or even a phenotypically diverse tumor related to the tumor of origin. Since the characteristic asymmetric division of stem cells is somewhat anomalous in cancer, it might be advisable to refer to them as "stemloids". Stemness in cancer is not as much as an identity but rather a status. There is increasing evidence of the importance of the tumor and the host micro-environment in conditioning the stem cell status itself. The cancer stem cell micro-environment may be the key in the development of therapeutic strategies. We must think in terms of targeting "standard" tumor cells, cancer stem cells, and also their niche and tumor micro-environment. Here we discuss some features of cancer stem cells, and the role of the micro-environment, envisaging a choral view of cancer stem cell development and-or latency, towards development of specific therapeutic approaches. Here we propose models of replication and quiescence and the modulation by cells, genes and miRNAs. We also summarize in a table surface makers useful for the identification and isolation of CSCs.
癌症干细胞（CSC）的概念最近成为癌症研究的前沿。对于它们的描述和定义，仍然缺乏广泛的共识。越来越多的关于 CSC 的文献迫使世界各地的研究人员改写癌症的自然史，包括将这些细胞作为主要参与者，并修正他们对肿瘤形成和进展的看法。CSC 是肿瘤细胞的组成部分，在明显的治疗根除后可以引发新的肿瘤。癌症干细胞或癌症起始细胞的功能定义是一种细胞，当移植到小鼠模型中时，可以产生与原始肿瘤相似的肿瘤，甚至可以产生与起源肿瘤相关的表型多样化的肿瘤。由于干细胞的不对称分裂在癌症中有些异常，因此将其称为“干细胞样”可能更为合适。癌症中的干性与其说是一种身份，不如说是一种状态。越来越多的证据表明肿瘤和宿主微环境在调节干细胞状态本身方面的重要性。癌症干细胞微环境可能是制定治疗策略的关键。我们必须考虑以靶向“标准”肿瘤细胞、癌症干细胞及其生态位和肿瘤微环境为目标。在这里，我们讨论了癌症干细胞的一些特征，以及微环境的作用，设想了癌症干细胞发展和/或潜伏的合唱观点，以开发特定的治疗方法。在这里，我们提出了复制和静止的模型以及细胞、基因和 miRNA 的调节。我们还在一个表格中总结了用于识别和分离 CSC 的表面标志物。
