Xu Li-Fan, Zhang Ji, Tian Zhi-Qiang, Wu Yu-Zhang
Department of Immunology, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
Yi Chuan. 2013 Sep;35(9):1049-57. doi: 10.3724/sp.j.1005.2013.01049.
According to the types of stem cells and considering tumor evolution, one of the most significant theories about stem cells is derived from cancer stem cells (CSCs), which, similar to normal adult stem cells, possess the capacity of self-renewal and potential of differentiation. Over the past few years, compelling evidence has emerged in support of the CSC model for many tumors. The CSCs are posited to be responsible not only for tumor initiation but also for tumor metastasis, relapse and therapyresistance. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that govern the generation and maintenance of this special population of cells is of great importance. Despite the current progress in basic genetic research, the latest work implies that epigenetic mechanisms, from DNA methylation, histone modifications and chromatin-remodeling to the wide discovered miRNAs, play critical roles in the regulation of CSC features. This review focuses on the key epigenetic mechanisms that regulate and define the unique CSC properties.
根据干细胞的类型并考虑肿瘤的演变，关于干细胞最重要的理论之一源自癌症干细胞（CSCs），它与正常成体干细胞相似，具有自我更新能力和分化潜能。在过去几年中，出现了令人信服的证据支持许多肿瘤的CSC模型。癌症干细胞不仅被认为是肿瘤起始的原因，还与肿瘤转移、复发和治疗抵抗有关。因此，了解控制这一特殊细胞群体产生和维持的机制非常重要。尽管目前基础基因研究取得了进展，但最新研究表明，从DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、染色质重塑到广泛发现的微小RNA等表观遗传机制，在癌症干细胞特性的调控中发挥着关键作用。本综述重点关注调控和定义癌症干细胞独特特性的关键表观遗传机制。
