Dclk1 Defines Quiescent Pancreatic Progenitors that Promote Injury-Induced Regeneration and Tumorigenesis Investigators showed that doublecortin-like kinase-1 (Dclk1) labels a rare population of long-lived, quiescent pancreatic cells. In vitro, Dclk1+ cells proliferated readily and sustained pancreatic organoid growth. In vivo, Dclk1+ cells were necessary for pancreatic regeneration following injury and chronic inflammation. [Cell Stem Cell] Full Article | Graphical Abstract GPR56 Contributes to the Development of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Mice The G-protein coupled receptor 56 (GPR56) was identified as part of the molecular signature of functionally validated leukemic stem cells isolated from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Functional relevance of GPR56 expression was validated in mice, in which co-expression of Gpr56 significantly accelerated Hoxa9 induced leukemogenesis and vice versa knockdown of Gpr56 delayed onset of Hoxa9/Meis1 induced AML. [Leukemia] Abstract Defining a Population of Stem-Like Human Prostate Cancer Cells that Can Generate and Propagate Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) Scientists showed that the ALDHhiCD44+α2β1+ cells are cancer stem cells with both tumor-initiating and tumor-propagating abilities for CRPC. [Clin Cancer Res] Abstract MicroRNA-452 Promotes Stem-Like Cells of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inhibiting Sox7 Involving Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway The authors enriched stem-like hepatocellular carcinoma cells by serial passages of hepatospheres with chemotherapeutic agents. Stem-like characteristics including the capabilities of chemo-resistance, stemness-related gene expression profiling, self-renewal, tumorigenicity and metastasis formation were detected. [Oncotarget] Full Article The Autophagy Inhibitor Chloroquine Targets Cancer Stem Cells in Triple Negative Breast Cancer by Inducing Mitochondrial Damage and Impairing DNA Break Repair Researchers demonstrated that chloroquine effectively targets cancer stem cells via autophagy inhibition, mitochondrial structural damage, and impairment of double-stranded DNA break repair. [Cancer Lett] Abstract FOXC2 Regulates the G2/M Transition of Stem Cell-Rich Breast Cancer Cells and Sensitizes Them to PLK1 Inhibition The authors identified a novel role for the transcription factor FOXC2, which is mostly expressed in cancer cells with stem cell properties (CSCs), in the regulation of cell cycle of CSC-enriched breast cancer cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article Loss of CSL Unlocks a Hypoxic Response and Enhanced Tumor Growth Potential in Breast Cancer Cells Scientists report that genetic removal of CSL in breast tumor cells caused accelerated growth of xenografted tumors. Loss of CSL unleashed a hypoxic response during normoxic conditions, manifested by stabilization of the HIF1α protein and acquisition of a polyploid giant-cell, cancer stem cell-like, phenotype. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article Generation of Novel Thyroid Cancer Stem-Like Cell Clones: Effects of Resveratrol and Valproic Acid Investigators characterized cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) in thyroid carcinomas and generated clones of CSC lines. They showed that anaplastic thyroid cancers had significantly more CSCs than well-differentiated thyroid cancers. [Am J Pathol] Abstract Selective AKT Inhibition by MK-2206 Represses Colorectal Cancer-Initiating Stem Cells Researchers aimed to gain insight into tumor-initiating cells (TICs) biology by comparing the transcriptome of primary TIC cultures and their normal stem cell counterparts to uncover expression differences. [Ann Surg Oncol] Full Article |