INSERM UMR 1052, Lyon, France.
Cancer Lett. 2013 Sep 10;338(1):63-8. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2012.05.014. Epub 2012 May 22.
The concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been proposed to explain the ability of single disseminated cancer cells to reconstitute tumours with heterogeneity similar to that of the primary tumour they arise from. Although this concept is now commonly accepted, the origin of these CSCs remains a source of debate. First proposed to arise through stem/progenitor cell transformation, CSCs might also or alternatively arise from differentiated cancer cells through epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), an embryonic transdifferentiation process. Using breast carcinomas as a study model, I propose revisiting the role of EMT in generating CSCs and the debate on potential underlying mechanisms and biological significance.
癌症干细胞（CSC）的概念已经被提出，用于解释单个分散的癌细胞重新构成肿瘤的能力，其异质性与它们起源的原发性肿瘤相似。尽管这个概念现在已经被普遍接受，但这些 CSC 的起源仍然是一个争论的来源。CSC 最初被提出是通过干细胞/祖细胞转化而来，也可能或者通过上皮到间充质转化（EMT）从分化的癌细胞中产生，这是一个胚胎转分化过程。我使用乳腺癌作为研究模型，提出重新审视 EMT 在产生 CSC 中的作用以及关于潜在机制和生物学意义的争论。
