Understanding and targeting cancer stem cells： therapeutic implications and challenges

• Published in: Acta pharmacologica Sinica Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 732 - 740
• Main Authors: Chen, Ke, Huang, Ying-hui, Chen, Ji-long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cell Differentiation - physiology; CSC; Disease Progression; Drug Design; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Humans; Immunology; Internal Medicine; Medical Microbiology; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - drug effects; Neoplastic Stem Cells - metabolism; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Review; Vaccine; 信号通路; 分子识别; 干细胞治疗; 细胞群体; 肿瘤干细胞; 肿瘤细胞; 自我更新; leukemia; stem cell; signaling pathway; cancer; tumor microenvironment; biomarker; ATP-binding cassette transporter
• ISSN: 1671-4083; 1745-7254; 1745-7254
• DOI: 10.1038/aps.2013.27

Cancer stem cells （CSCs） have been identified as rare cell populations in many cancers, including leukemia and solid tumors. Accumulating evidence has suggested that CSCs are capable of self-renewal and differentiation into various types of cancer cells. Aberrant regulation of gene expression and some signaling pathways has been observed in CSCs compared to other tumor cells. CSCs are thought to be responsible for cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, recurrence and drug resistance. The CSC hypothesis has recently attracted much attention due to the potential for discovery and development of CSC-related therapies and the identification of key molecules involved in controlling the unique properties of CSC populations. Over the past several years, a tremendous amount of effort has been invested in the development of new drugs, such as nanomedicines, that can take advantage of the ＂Achilles＇ heel＂ of CSCs by targeting cell-surface molecular markers or various signaling pathways. Novel compounds and therapeutic strategies that selectively target CSCs have been identified, some of which have been evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies. In this article, we review new findings related to the investigation of the CSC hypothesis, and discuss the crucial pathways involved in regulating the development of CSC populations and the advances in studies of drug resistance. In addition, we review new CSC-targeted therapeutic strategies aiming to eradicate malignancies.