Hanyang Med Rev.  2015 Nov;35(4):250-257. 10.7599/hmr.2015.35.4.250.

Cancer Stem Cells: Biological Features and Targeted Therapeutics

• Song SY
• Seo D

• KMID: 2129479
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7599/hmr.2015.35.4.250

Abstract

Advance in stem cells (SCs) has become significant by the isolation of the tissue-specific SCs in a tissue, because it is the beginning of using SC utility for regenerative medicine. Likewise in SCs, a small subpopulation of cancer cells, named cancer stem cells (CSCs), also have similar properties. These properties include indefinite self-renewal potential and sharing similar signaling pathways with normal SCs, because the originality of CSCs is from the mutation of normal SCs. Hierarchically, CSCs in solid tumors may organize from the normal SCs in the highest cellular hierarchy of these cancer cells. The functional assay techniques to assess the differentiation frequency of normal SCs are similarly used in CSCs to sustain tumor growth and recurrence after therapy. In this review, we discuss the different parallels between adult SCs and CSCs in solid cancer disease and applications toward targeted therapy in use of molecular level on CSCs.

Keyword

Stem Cells; Neoplastic Stem Cells; Genetic Heterogeneity; Molecular Targeted Therapy

MeSH Terms

Adult
Genetic Heterogeneity
Humans
Molecular Targeted Therapy
Neoplastic Stem Cells*
Recurrence
Regenerative Medicine
Stem Cells

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Hierarchy in normal tissue and cancer. SCs have self-renewal and differentiation potential, but the capacity of self-renewal is not equivalent to differentiated generations. SCs present long-term renewal potential, and progenitor cells present restricted self-renewal capacity. These progenitor cells give rise to terminally differentiated cells. SCs, stem cells.

• 

  Fig. 2 Functional assay experiments of normal Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells. Three techniques to assess differentiation and the potential of self-renewal in SCs and CSCs; transplantation, in vitro clonogenic assays, and in vivo lineage-tracing experiments. The SCs and CSCs can perform long-term renewal that were serially transplanted in vivo, serially colonized in vitro, and big subsets of colonies were created in lineage-tracing experiments (marked cells are shown in yellow). The progenitor cells would not be able to be serially transplanted on transplantation to secondary cancer. However progenitor cells form colonies only transiently in in vitro and small clones in in vivo lineage-tracing experiments. Differentiated cells will not give rise to any colonies. SCs, stem cells; CSCs, cardiac stem cells.

• 

  Fig. 3 The two different models of tumor growth. (A) In the stochastic model, all tumor cells can self-renew or differentiate stochastically. (C) In the CSC model, only the CSCs have the long-term self-renewal, and the committed progenitors perform limited differentiation potential. (B, D) In the clonal diversity, somatic mutations can increase tumor heterogeneity. CSCs, cardiac stem cells.

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