Yoshida Go J, Saya Hideyuki
Division of Gene Regulation, Institute for Advanced Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine.
Clin Calcium. 2011 Mar;21(3):411-7.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) , which are subset of tumor cells resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, are associated with malignant characteristics of tumor and possess both self-renewal ability and pluripotency for tumor formation. In the process of generating non-CSCs from CSCs, gene mutations and epigenetic changes are induced in those cells, resulting in composition of tumor tissue with heterogeneous cell population. CSCs have been recognized as the source of metastatic foci. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a change in cellular phenotype characterized by the loss of cell-to-cell adhesions and the gain of migratory behaviors,which has been shown to be a critical factor for initiating cancer invasion and metastasis. However, some recent studies suggest that EMT is not essential requirement for tumor invasion and metastasis. Herein, we discuss the biological significance of CSCs and EMT in tumor invasion and metastasis.
癌症干细胞（CSCs）是肿瘤细胞中对放疗和化疗具有抗性的一个亚群，与肿瘤的恶性特征相关，具有自我更新能力和形成肿瘤的多能性。在从癌症干细胞产生非癌症干细胞的过程中，这些细胞会发生基因突变和表观遗传变化，导致肿瘤组织由异质性细胞群体组成。癌症干细胞已被认为是转移灶的来源。上皮-间质转化（EMT）是一种细胞表型变化，其特征是细胞间黏附丧失和迁移行为增加，已被证明是引发癌症侵袭和转移的关键因素。然而，最近的一些研究表明，EMT并非肿瘤侵袭和转移的必要条件。在此，我们讨论癌症干细胞和EMT在肿瘤侵袭和转移中的生物学意义。
