Tissue Eng Regen Med.
2018 Aug;15(4):365-380. 10.1007/s13770-018-0128-8.
The Use of Normal Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells for Potential Anti-Cancer Therapeutic Strategy
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, 43 Jibongro, Bucheon 14662, Republic of Korea. bckang@snu.ac.kr
- 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
- 3Laboratory Animal Resource Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 30 Yeongudanjiro, Ochang-eup, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28116, Republic of Korea.
- 4Department of Experimental Animal Research, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea. jwyun@catholic.ac.kr
- 5Biomedical Center for Animal Resource and Development, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehakro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
- 6Graduate School of Translational Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
- 7Designed Animal and Transplantation Research Institute, Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, 1447 Pyeongchang-daero, Daehwa-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do 25354, Republic of Korea.
- KMID: 2418094
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-018-0128-8
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
Despite recent advance in conventional cancer therapies including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy to reduce tumor size, unfortunately cancer mortality and metastatic cancer incidence remain high. Along with a deeper understanding of stem cell biology, cancer stem cell (CSC) is important in targeted cancer therapy. Herein, we review representative patents using not only normal stem cells as therapeutics themselves or delivery vehicles, but also CSCs as targets for anti-cancer strategy.
METHODS
Relevant patent literatures published between 2005 and 2017 are discussed to present developmental status and experimental results on using normal stem cells and CSCs for cancer therapy and explore potential future directions in this field.
RESULTS
Stem cells have been considered as important element of regenerative therapy by promoting tissue regeneration. Particularly, there is a growing trend to use stem cells as a target drug-delivery system to reduce undesirable side effects in non-target tissues. Noteworthy, studies on CSC-specific markers for distinguishing CSCs from normal stem cells and mature cancer cells have been conducted as a selective anti-cancer therapy with few side effects. Many researchers have also reported the development of various substances with anticancer effects by targeting CSCs from cancer tissues.
CONCLUSION
There has been a continuing increase in the number of studies on therapeutic stem cells and CSC-specific markers for selective diagnosis and therapy of cancer. This review focuses on the current status in the use of normal stem cells and CSCs for targeted cancer therapy. Future direction is also proposed.
