Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
J Cell Physiol. 2021 Apr;236(4):2443-2458. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30063. Epub 2020 Sep 22.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a unique population in the tumor, but they only comprise 2%-5% of the tumor bulk. Although CSCs share several features with embryonic stem cells, CSCs can give rise to the tumor cells. CSCs overexpress embryonic transcription factor NANOG, which is downregulated in differentiated tissues. This transcription factor confers CSC's stemness, unlimited self-renewal, metastasis, invasiveness, angiogenesis, and drug-resistance with the assistance of WNT, OCT4, SOX2, Hedgehog, BMI-1, and other complexes. NANOG facilitates CSCs development via multiple pathways, like angiogenesis and lessening E-cadherin expression levels, which paves the road for metastasis. Moreover, NANOG represses apoptosis and leads to drug-resistance. This review aims to highlight the pivotal role of NANOG and the pertained pathways in CSCs. Also, this current study intends to demonstrate that targeting NANOG can dimmish the CSCs, sensitize the tumor to chemotherapy, and eradicate the cancer cells.
癌症干细胞（CSCs）是肿瘤中的一个独特群体，但它们仅占肿瘤块的 2%-5%。尽管 CSCs 与胚胎干细胞具有一些共同特征，但 CSCs 可以产生肿瘤细胞。CSCs 过度表达胚胎转录因子 NANOG，而在分化组织中 NANOG 表达下调。这种转录因子通过 WNT、OCT4、SOX2、Hedgehog、BMI-1 和其他复合物赋予 CSC 的干性、无限自我更新、转移、侵袭、血管生成和耐药性。NANOG 通过多种途径促进 CSCs 的发展，例如血管生成和降低 E-钙黏蛋白表达水平，为转移铺平道路。此外，NANOG 抑制细胞凋亡并导致耐药性。本综述旨在强调 NANOG 及其相关途径在 CSCs 中的关键作用。此外，本研究旨在表明，靶向 NANOG 可以减少 CSCs，使肿瘤对化疗敏感，并消除癌细胞。
