Paschall Amy V, Liu Kebin
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Cancer Center, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA 30912. Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA 30904, USA.
Curr Colorectal Cancer Rep. 2015 Dec;11(6):414-421. doi: 10.1007/s11888-015-0301-6. Epub 2015 Oct 10.
Colorectal cancer stem cells (CSCs) were initially considered to be a subset of undifferentiated tumor cells with well-defined phenotypic and molecular markers. However, emerging evidence indicates instead that colorectal CSCs are heterogeneous subsets of tumor cells that are continuously reshaped by the dynamic interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and immune factors in the tumor microenvironment. Thus, the colorectal CSC phenotypes and responsiveness to therapy may not only be a tumor cell-intrinsic feature, but also depend on tumor-extrinsic microenvironmental factors. Furthermore, emerging evidence also implicates colorectal CSCs in potential immune evasion. Therefore, understanding how colorectal CSC-intrinsic mechanisms cooperate with the extrinsic microenvironmental factors to dynamically shape colorectal CSC resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy holds great promise for development of targeted CSC therapies of advanced human CRC.
结直肠癌干细胞（CSCs）最初被认为是具有明确表型和分子标志物的未分化肿瘤细胞亚群。然而，新出现的证据表明，结直肠癌干细胞是肿瘤细胞的异质性亚群，它们在肿瘤微环境中通过遗传、表观遗传和免疫因素之间的动态相互作用而不断重塑。因此，结直肠癌干细胞的表型和对治疗的反应性可能不仅是肿瘤细胞内在的特征，还取决于肿瘤外在的微环境因素。此外，新出现的证据还表明结直肠癌干细胞存在潜在的免疫逃逸。因此，了解结直肠癌干细胞内在机制如何与外在微环境因素协同作用，以动态塑造结直肠癌干细胞对化疗和免疫治疗的抗性，对于开发晚期人类结直肠癌的靶向干细胞疗法具有巨大的前景。
