Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK,
Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2013 Oct;9(5):721-30. doi: 10.1007/s12015-013-9453-4.
The cancer stem cell hypothesis postulates that a single stem-like cancer cell is able to produce all cancer cell types found in a tumor. These cells are also thought to be the causative agents of relapse following therapy. In order to confirm the importance of cancer stem cells in tumor formation and patient prognosis, their role in prostate cancer must be comprehensively studied. This review describes current methods and markers for isolating and characterizing prostate cancer stem cells, including assays for self-renewal, multipotency and resistance to therapy. In particular the advantages and limitations of these approaches are analyzed. The review will also examine novel methods for studying the lineage of cancer stem cells in vivo using transgenic mouse models. These lineage tracing approaches have significant advantages and, if a number of challenges can be addressed, offer great potential for understanding the significance of cancer stem cells in human prostate cancer.
癌症干细胞假说认为，一个单一的干细胞样癌细胞能够产生肿瘤中所有的癌细胞类型。这些细胞也被认为是治疗后复发的原因。为了证实癌症干细胞在肿瘤形成和患者预后中的重要性，必须全面研究它们在前列腺癌中的作用。这篇综述描述了目前用于分离和鉴定前列腺癌干细胞的方法和标记物，包括自我更新、多能性和对治疗的耐药性检测。特别分析了这些方法的优缺点。综述还将检查使用转基因小鼠模型在体内研究癌症干细胞谱系的新方法。这些谱系追踪方法具有显著的优势，如果能够解决一些挑战，它们将为理解癌症干细胞在人类前列腺癌中的意义提供巨大的潜力。
