Understanding cancer stem cell heterogeneity and plasticity
- 17 January 2012
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Cell Research
- Vol. 22 (3), 457-472
- https://doi.org/10.1038/cr.2012.13
Abstract
Heterogeneity is an omnipresent feature of mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo. It has been recently realized that even mouse and human embryonic stem cells under the best culture conditions are heterogeneous containing pluripotent as well as partially committed cells. Somatic stem cells in adult organs are also heterogeneous, containing many subpopulations of self-renewing cells with distinct regenerative capacity. The differentiated progeny of adult stem cells also retain significant developmental plasticity that can be induced by a wide variety of experimental approaches. Like normal stem cells, recent data suggest that cancer stem cells (CSCs) similarly display significant phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, and that the CSC progeny can manifest diverse plasticity. Here, I discuss CSC heterogeneity and plasticity in the context of tumor development and progression, and by comparing with normal stem cell development. Appreciation of cancer cell plasticity entails a revision to the earlier concept that only the tumorigenic subset in the tumor needs to be targeted. By understanding the interrelationship between CSCs and their differentiated progeny, we can hope to develop better therapeutic regimens that can prevent the emergence of tumor cell variants that are able to found a new tumor and distant metastases.Keywords
This publication has 138 references indexed in Scilit:
- Strategies for Homeostatic Stem Cell Self-Renewal in Adult TissuesCell, 2011
- Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Efficiently Recognize Human Colon Cancer Stem-Like CellsThe American Journal of Pathology, 2011
- TGF-β Receptor Inhibitors Target the CD44high/Id1high Glioma-Initiating Cell Population in Human GlioblastomaCancer Cell, 2010
- A Chromatin-Mediated Reversible Drug-Tolerant State in Cancer Cell SubpopulationsCell, 2010
- Biological and Molecular Heterogeneity of Breast Cancers Correlates with Their Cancer Stem Cell ContentCell, 2010
- An Epigenetic Switch Involving NF-κB, Lin28, Let-7 MicroRNA, and IL6 Links Inflammation to Cell TransformationCell, 2009
- The Tumor Suppressor p53 Regulates Polarity of Self-Renewing Divisions in Mammary Stem CellsCell, 2009
- Heterogeneity in Cancer: Cancer Stem Cells versus Clonal EvolutionCell, 2009
- The Ectopic Expression of Pax4 in the Mouse Pancreas Converts Progenitor Cells into α and Subsequently β CellsCell, 2009
- The Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Generates Cells with Properties of Stem CellsCell, 2008