Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel; Lorry Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Sciences and Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200, Israel.
Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel; Lorry Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Sciences and Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200, Israel.
Drug Resist Updat. 2016 Sep;28:1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.drup.2016.06.006. Epub 2016 Jun 25.
Over the past two decades cancer stem cells (CSCs) have emerged as essential players in the pathogenesis of cancer, with the capacity to initiate, maintain and repopulate different tumors. Within the tumor bulk, CSCs represent a small subpopulation, bestowed with the capacity to self-renew and yield heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells. In many scenarios, CSCs exhibit increased resistance toward irradiation and chemotherapy, and given their spectacular ability to replenish the tumor, they constitute a substantial therapeutic challenge. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the concept of CSCs and the experimental methodology utilized for identifying and isolating these unique cells. We discuss how CSCs are regulated within the tumor microenvironment as well as the role they portray in seeding fresh tumors. Finally, we explore the mechanisms that enable CSCs to evade modern therapeutic approaches and the possible strategies that can be utilized to prevent CSCs from resurrecting the disease.
在过去的二十年中，癌症干细胞 (CSC) 已成为癌症发病机制中的重要参与者，具有启动、维持和重新填充不同肿瘤的能力。在肿瘤实体中，CSC 代表了一小部分具有自我更新能力并产生异质性癌细胞谱系的细胞。在许多情况下，CSC 对辐射和化疗具有更高的抵抗力，并且由于它们具有惊人的补充肿瘤的能力，因此它们构成了一个重大的治疗挑战。在这篇综述中，我们简要概述了 CSC 的概念以及用于鉴定和分离这些独特细胞的实验方法。我们讨论了 CSC 如何在肿瘤微环境中受到调节以及它们在播种新肿瘤中所扮演的角色。最后，我们探讨了使 CSC 逃避现代治疗方法的机制以及可以用来防止 CSC 使疾病复发的可能策略。
