肿瘤干细胞及肝癌肿瘤干细胞

肿瘤干细胞理论认为只有存在于肿瘤中的少量干细胞性质的细胞群体对肿瘤发生和发展起着决定作用,肿瘤是由干细胞突变积累而形成的无限增殖的异常组织,这一理论的提出使人们对肿瘤发生机制的认识上升到了一个新的高度,也引起了研究者的广泛关注;肝癌是我国常见的恶性肿瘤之一,我国肝癌死亡率居世界之首,目前对肝癌的研究是我国恶性肿瘤防治的重点工作,现对当前肿瘤干细胞与肝癌肿瘤干细胞相关方面的最新研究进展作一概述。     

肝癌干细胞的研究现状

肿瘤发生的癌干细胞假说认为肿瘤组织是由处于各种分化等级的细胞组成的,其中的癌干细胞数量虽少,但在肿瘤的发生、恶化、转移中起重要作用。肝细胞癌作为最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,其中是否存在“肝癌干细胞”的问题一直倍受人们关注。该文介绍肝癌干细胞的研究情况。     

实体肿瘤干细胞

“肿瘤发生的干细胞学说”认为肿瘤起源于干细胞,肿瘤生长是肿瘤组织中极少量肿瘤干细胞增殖的结果。实体肿瘤干细胞分离成功的报道最早见于乳腺癌的研究,随后,脑肿瘤及其他实体肿瘤干细胞也被分离。对肿瘤干细胞的深入研究,将为有效地根治肿瘤开辟新的思路。该文介绍肿瘤干细胞的发现、起源及其在人乳腺癌、脑部肿瘤和实体肿瘤中的研究进展,展望实体肿瘤干细胞的研究前景。     

肿瘤干细胞起源及其生物学特性

肿瘤干细胞与正常成体干细胞在自我更新与增殖分化能力、表型标记和强耐药性等诸多方面存在着相类似的生物学特征,所以肿瘤干细胞被推测为肿瘤发生的细胞起源。基于肿瘤干细胞与正常干细胞之间的相似性质和肿瘤发生的分子机制,科学家建立了一系列从肿瘤组织或肿瘤细胞系分离肿瘤干细胞的实验方法和研究肿瘤干细胞起源的动物实验模型。现就目前在肿瘤干细胞起源和生物学特性领域的研究作概括阐述。     

上皮肿瘤始于干细胞

人类肿瘤大约90％以上源自于上皮。上皮干细胞是唯一长期存在于上皮组织的细胞,可积累多次突变生成肿瘤。所以,人们认为肿瘤多起源于正常干细胞。然而,目前研究中关于上皮肿瘤干细胞及其与正常上皮干细胞的关系了解甚少。现综述近年来有关上皮干细胞和肿瘤发生的关系及其调控机制方面的研究进展。     

肿瘤干细胞

干细胞和肿瘤细胞在生物学特性和传导调控途径及机制等诸多方面有着极其相似的生物学行为,从而将干细胞理论应用于肿瘤学研究领域产生肿瘤干细胞理论。近年来研究认为,肿瘤干细胞是决定肿瘤发生发展及转归的一群主要细胞群体,该细胞群体很有可能起源于干细胞的突变。该文介绍干细胞、肿瘤细胞和肿瘤干细胞之间的相互作用及其关系。     

microRNAs参与肿瘤干细胞的调节

肿瘤干细胞存在于多种类型肿瘤中,并与肿瘤的发生发展密切相关。肿瘤干细胞和胚胎干细胞在生物学特征上存在许多共同点,如自我更新,多潜能性分化等等。然而,肿瘤干细胞和胚胎干细胞又存在很大差异,主要表现在耐药性、致瘤力和转移活性上。肿瘤干细胞在临床研究中具有不可替代的重要性,然而其分子水平上的调节机制尚未被完整揭示。作为内源性非编码小RNA的一部分,miRNAs在细胞发生发展的调节过程中扮演着重要角色。大量研究表明,miRNAs参与肿瘤干细胞的调节,并参与肿瘤的发生与进展。探索miRNAs在肿瘤干细胞基因表达调控中的作用及作用机制,有助于肿瘤特异性生物学标志物及治疗靶点的确定。本文就miRNAs与肿瘤干细胞调节的相关研究进展进行综述。     

肿瘤干细胞与表观遗传学调控

关于恶性肿瘤发生、复发与转移机制的研究由来已久,但目前的临床治疗方法依然不能克服肿瘤复发与转移的难题,肿瘤患者的生存率并未得到显著改善。近年来的研究提示肿瘤的起源、复发与转移的真正原因可能是存在于肿瘤内的极少数具有干细胞特性的细胞,即肿瘤干细胞（cancer stem cells,CSC）。与此同时,越来越多的研究表明,对于肿瘤干细胞的发生与功能维持,表观遗传学的调控机制可能发挥着极其重要的作用。该文简要综述目前肿瘤干细胞和表观遗传学相关领域的研究进展,并对肿瘤干细胞形成及发展过程中表观遗传学的调控作用及机制进行重点介绍。     

抑癌基因p53与肿瘤研究的最新进展

p53基因是迄今为止已发现的与人类肿瘤发生相关性最高的抑癌基因,其主要生物学功能是通过调控DNA修复、细胞周期停滞和诱导细胞凋亡,维持基因组和细胞稳定,抑制肿瘤生长;肿瘤血管再生、微小RNA（microRNA,miRNA）及肿瘤干细胞是近几年来肿瘤发生机理研究领域的热点,本文综述了p53基因在肿瘤血管再生、miRNA、肿瘤干细胞中作用的最新研究进展及其在肿瘤治疗中的应用。     

免疫微环境对肿瘤干细胞影响研究进展

肿瘤干细胞是肿瘤组织中一小群特殊的未分化的细胞,由于其对化疗药耐受及致瘤潜能,被认为是造成肿瘤发生、复发和转移的根源,所以深入了解肿瘤干细胞特性对提高肿瘤治疗效率有着重要临床意义.肿瘤微环境中的免疫细胞及其分泌的分子与肿瘤干细胞之间存在复杂的相互作用,可以维持肿瘤干细胞的干性及自我更新能力.目前,肿瘤免疫微环境对肿瘤干细胞的影响、肿瘤干细胞对免疫微环境的塑造作用以及靶向肿瘤干细胞或免疫微环境等研究,是肿瘤干细胞研究领域的热点问题.本文就免疫微环境对肿瘤干细胞的影响、靶向肿瘤干细胞及微环境治疗的研究进展进行了综述.     

Convergence of normal stem cell and cancer stem cell developmental stage: Implication for differential therapies

Increased evidence shows that normal stem cells may contribute to cancer development and progression by acting as cancer-initiating cells through their interactions with abnormal environmental elements.We postulate that normal stem cells and cancer stem cells (CSC) possess similar mechanisms of self-renewal and differentiation.CSC can be the key to the elaboration of anti-cancer-based therapy.In this article,we focus on a controversial new theme relating to CSC.Tumorigenesis may have a critical stage characterized as a "therapeutic window",which can be identified by asso-ciation of molecular,biochemical and biological events.Identifying such a stage can allow the production of more effective therapies (e.g.manipulated stem cells) to treat several cancers.More importantly,confirming the existence of a similar therapeutic window during the conversion of normal stem cells to malignant CSC may lead to targeted therapy specifically against CSC.This conversion information may be derived from investigating the biological behaviour of both normal stem cells and cancerous stem cells.Currently,there is little knowledge about the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the initiation and maintenance of CSC.Studies on co-evolution and interdependence of cancer with normal tissues may lead to a useful treatment paradigm of cancer.The crosstalk between normal stem cells and cancer formation may converge developmental stages of different types of stem cells (e.g.normal stem cells,CSC and embryonic stem cells).The differential studies of the convergence may result in novel therapies for treating cancers.     

干细胞的异常分化与肿瘤发生

干细胞是一类具有自我更新和多向分化潜能的细胞群体。越来越多的研究表明,干细胞异常分化可导致肿瘤。并且在肿瘤组织中存在部分细胞,它们具有干细胞的多种特性,被称为肿瘤干细胞(cancer stem cell,CSC)。肿瘤干细胞理论的提出,为肿瘤的治疗与研究提供了新的方向。本文综述了正常干细胞异常分化、肿瘤干细胞的存在和特性、肿瘤干细胞靶向治疗的前景及所面临的问题等方面的研究进展。     

神经干细胞移植的临床研究进展

神经系统损伤会导致脑内神经干细胞（neural stem cells,NSCs）的扩增以实现自我修复功能,而通过外源细胞移植的方式来加速这一进程,可能是一种更有效的治疗手段。当前,神经干细胞临床研究所面临的主要问题是如何评价细胞在移植后的行为和功能。该文综述了近几年使用神经干细胞移植治疗几种主要神经系统疾病的临床研究成果,并着重关注了干细胞移植后的示踪研究。     

Therapy targets in glioblastoma and cancer stem cells: lessons from haematopoietic neoplasms

Despite intense efforts to identify cancer‐initiating cells in malignant brain tumours, markers linked to the function of these cells have only very recently begun to be uncovered. The notion of cancer stem cell gained prominence, several molecules and signalling pathways becoming relevant for diagnosis and treatment. Whether a substantial fraction or only a tiny minority of cells in a tumor can initiate and perpetuate cancer, is still debated. The paradigm of cancer‐initiating stem cells has initially been developed with respect to blood cancers where chronic conditions such as myeloproliferative neoplasms are due to mutations acquired in a haematopoietic stem cell (HSC), which maintains the normal hierarchy to neoplastic haematopoiesis. In contrast, acute leukaemia transformation of such blood neoplasms appears to derive not only from HSCs but also from committed progenitors that cannot differentiate. This review will focus on putative novel therapy targets represented by markers described to define cancer stem/initiating cells in malignant gliomas, which have been called ‘leukaemia of the brain’, given their rapid migration and evolution. Parallels are drawn with other cancers, especially haematopoietic, given the similar rampant proliferation and treatment resistance of glioblastoma multiforme and secondary acute leukaemias. Genes associated with the malignant conditions and especially expressed in glioma cancer stem cells are intensively searched. Although many such molecules might only coincidentally be expressed in cancer‐initiating cells, some may function in the oncogenic process, and those would be the prime candidates for diagnostic and targeted therapy. For the latter, combination therapies are likely to be envisaged, given the robust and plastic signalling networks supporting malignant proliferation.     

Cancer stem cells in solid tumors: is 'evading apoptosis' a hallmark of cancer?

Conventional wisdom has long held that once a cancer cell has developed it will inevitably progress to clinical disease. Updating this paradigm, it has more recently become apparent that the tumor interacts with its microenvironment and that some environmental bottlenecks, such as the angiogenic switch, must be overcome for the tumor to progress. In parallel, attraction has been drawn to the concept that there is a minority population of cells - the cancer stem cells - bestowed with the exclusive ability to self-renew and regenerate the tumor. With therapeutic targeting issues at stake, much attention has shifted to the identification of cancer stem cells, the thinking being that the remaining non-stem population, already fated to die, will play a negligible role in tumor development.In fact, the newly appreciated importance of intercellular interactions in cancer development also extends in a unique and unexpected way to interactions between the stem and non-stem compartments of the tumor. Here we discuss recent findings drawn from a hybrid mathematical-cellular automaton model that simulates growth of a heterogeneous solid tumor comprised of cancer stem cells and non-stem cancer cells. The model shows how the introduction of cell fate heterogeneity paradoxically influences the tumor growth dynamic in response to apoptosis, to reveal yet another bottleneck to tumor progression potentially exploitable for disease control.     

肿瘤干细胞研究进展

肿瘤干细胞（cancer stem cell, CSC）假说是近年来提出的关于肿瘤发生的新理论,在所有的肿瘤细胞中,可能只有一小部分细胞具有产生肿瘤并维持肿瘤生长和异质性的能力,目前已经在白血病、乳腺癌、脑癌等肿瘤组织中成功分离出了肿瘤干细胞,深入了解肿瘤干细胞的生物学特性、发展相应的鉴别方法以及特殊的治疗手段对癌症的临床治疗有着重要的意义。主要从肿瘤干细胞的概念、起源、鉴定分离方法、与正常干细胞的比较、比率以及与肿瘤转移的关系等方面进行了综述。     

Adipose-derived stem cells in ovarian cancer progression, metastasis,and chemoresistance

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological malignancy due to its symptomless early stage, metastasis, and high recurrence rate. The tumor microenvironment contributes to the ovarian cancer progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Adipose-derived stem cell in the tumor microenvironment of ovarian cancer, as a key player, interacts with ovarian cancer cells to form the cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer-associated adipocytes, and secretes soluble factors to activate tumor cell signaling, which can promote ovarian cancer metastasis and chemoresistance. We summarize in this review the recent progress in the studies of interactions between adipose-derived stem cell and ovarian cancer, thus, to provide some insight for ovarian cancer therapy through targeting adipose-derived stem cell.     

Inflamm-aging of the stem cell niche: breast cancer as a paradigmatic example: breakdown of the multi-shell cytokine network fuels cancer in aged people

Inflamm-aging is a relatively new terminology used to describe the age-related increase in the systemic pro-inflammatory status of humans. Here, we represent inflamm-aging as a breakdown in the multi-shell cytokine network, in which stem cells and stromal fibroblasts (referred to as the stem cell niche) become pro-inflammatory cytokine over-expressing cells due to the accumulation of DNA damage. Inflamm-aging self-propagates owing to the capability of pro-inflammatory cytokines to ignite the DNA-damage response in other cells surrounding DNA-damaged cells. Macrophages, the major cellular player in inflamm-aging, amplify the phenomenon, by broadcasting pro-inflammatory signals at both local and systemic levels. On the basis of this, we propose that inflamm-aging is a major contributor to the increase in cancer incidence and progression in aged people. Breast cancer will be presented as a paradigmatic example for this relationship.     

Revisiting the role of lysophosphatidic acid in stem cell biology

Stem cells possess unique biological characteristics such as the ability to self-renew and to undergo multilineage differentiation into specialized cells. Whereas embryonic stem cells (ESC) can differentiate into all cell types of the body, somatic stem cells (SSC) are a population of stem cells located in distinct niches throughout the body that differentiate into the specific cell types of the tissue in which they reside in. SSC function mainly to restore cells as part of normal tissue homeostasis or to replenish cells that are damaged due to injury. Cancer stem-like cells (CSC) are said to be analogous to SSC in this manner where tumor growth and progression as well as metastasis are fueled by a small population of CSC that reside within the corresponding tumor. Moreover, emerging evidence indicates that CSC are inherently resistant to chemo- and radiotherapy that are often the cause of cancer relapse. Hence, major research efforts have been directed at identifying CSC populations in different cancer types and understanding their biology. Many factors are thought to regulate and maintain cell stemness, including bioactive lysophospholipids such as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). In this review, we discuss some of the newly discovered functions of LPA not only in the regulation of CSC but also normal SSC, the similarities in these regulatory functions, and how these discoveries can pave way to the development of novel therapies in cancer and regenerative medicine.     

WJSC 6th Anniversary Special Issues（2）:Mesenchymal stem cells Brain mesenchymal stem cells:The other stem cells of the brain?

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells(MSC),have the potential to differentiate into cells of the mesenchymal lineage and have non-progenitor functions including immunomodulation.The demonstration that MSCs are perivascular cells found in almost all adult tissues raises fascinating perspectives on their role in tissue maintenance and repair.However,some controversies about the physiological role of the perivascular MSCs residing outside the bone marrow and on their therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine exist.In brain,perivascular MSCs like pericytes and adventitial cells,could constitute another stem cell population distinct to the neural stem cell pool.The demonstration of the neuronal potential of MSCs requires stringent criteria including morphological changes,the demonstration of neural biomarkers expression,electrophysiological recordings,and the absence of cell fusion.The recent finding that brain cancer stem cells can transdifferentiate into pericytes is another facet of the plasticity of these cells.It suggests that the perversion of the stem cell potential of pericytes might play an even unsuspected role in cancer formation and tumor progression.