Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078, USA.
Asian J Androl. 2012 May;14(3):423-7. doi: 10.1038/aja.2011.164. Epub 2012 Feb 27.
The hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in the bone marrow has been studied extensively over the past few decades, yet the bone marrow microenvironment that supports the growth of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) has only been recently considered to be a specialized 'niche' as well. New evidence supports the fact that disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) of PCa actually target the HSC niche, displace the occupant HSCs and take up residence in the pre-existing niche space. This review describes some of the evidence and mechanisms by which DTCs act as molecular parasites of the HSC niche. Furthermore, the interactions between DTCs, HSCs and the niche may provide new targets for niche-directed therapy, as well as insight into the perplexing clinical manifestations of metastatic PCa disease.
在过去的几十年中，人们对骨髓中的造血干细胞（HSC）龛进行了广泛的研究，但直到最近，人们才开始认为支持转移性前列腺癌（PCa）生长的骨髓微环境也是一个专门的“龛”。新的证据支持这样一个事实，即 PCa 的播散性肿瘤细胞（DTC）实际上靶向 HSC 龛，取代占据者 HSCs 并占据预先存在的龛空间。这篇综述描述了 DTC 作为 HSC 龛的分子寄生物的一些证据和机制。此外，DTC、HSC 和龛之间的相互作用可能为龛定向治疗提供新的靶点，并深入了解转移性 PCa 疾病令人费解的临床表现。
