Cancer Stem Cell News Volume 2.36 | Sep 11 2013

Erythropoietin Activates Cell Survival Pathways in Breast Cancer Stem-Like Cells to Protect Them from Chemotherapy
The authors found that breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSC) isolated from patient tumors express the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor and respond to EPO treatment with increased proliferation and self-renewal. Importantly, EPO stimulation increased BCSC resistance to chemotherapeutic agents and activated cellular pathways responsible for survival and drug resistance. [Cancer Res] Abstract

Fibulin-3-Mediated Inhibition of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Self-Renewal of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Positive Lung Cancer Stem Cells through Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Signaling
Investigators evaluated the roles and signaling mechanism of Fibulin-3 (FBLN3) in lung cancer stem cells. Forced expression of FBLN3 suppressed invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells and decreased the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition activators, including N-cadherin and Snail. [Oncogene] Abstract

Cancer Stem Cell Markers Are Enriched in Normal Tissue Adjacent to Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Inversely Correlated with DNA Repair Deficiency
Researchers hypothesized that cells present in normal tissue that bear cancer stem cell markers may represent a cancer cell of origin or a microenvironment primed for tumor development, and that their presence may correlate with the clinically-defined subtypes of breast cancer that show increased tumorigenicity and stem cell features. [Breast Cancer Res] Abstract | Full Article

Disulfiram Targets Cancer Stem-Like Cells and Reverses Resistance and Cross-Resistance in Acquired Paclitaxel-Resistant Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells
The authors have previously reported that disulfiram, an antialcoholism drug, targets cancer stem cells (CSCs) and enhances cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs. In this study, disulfiram abolished CSC characters and completely reversed paclitaxel and cisplatin resistance in MDA-MB-231_PAC10 cells. [Br J Cancer] Abstract

Colorectal Adenoma Stem-Like Cell Populations: Associations with Adenoma Characteristics and Metachronous Colorectal Neoplasia
Stem-like cells are present in colorectal adenomas, but their relationship to adenoma pathology and patient characteristics, including metachronous development of an additional adenoma (“recurrence”), have not been studied extensively. Scientists evaluated the expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase isoform 1A1, a putative stem cell marker, in baseline adenomas from the placebo arm of chemoprevention trial participants with colonoscopic follow-up. [Cancer Prev Res] Abstract

Sulforaphane Inhibits Mammary Adipogenesis by Targeting Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Investigators examined the role of mesenchymal stem cell-differentiated adipocytes on breast cancer cell migration, and tested the effects of sulforaphane (a dietary chemoprevention agent) on adipocyte-breast cancer cell interaction. [Breast Cancer Res Treat] Abstract

Periostin Contributes to the Acquisition of Multipotent Stem Cell-Like Properties in Human Mammary Epithelial Cells and Breast Cancer Cells
Scientists demonstrated that periostin (POSTN) promotes a stem cell-like trait and a mesenchymal phenotype in human mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer cells. Interestingly, ectopic overexpression of POSTN or recombinant POSTN treatment can induce human mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer cells differentiation into multiple cell lineages that recapitulate part of the multilineage differentiation potentials of mesenchymal stem cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

CD49f^high Cells Retain Sphere-Forming and Tumor-Initiating Activities in Human Gastric Tumors
There are reports that gastric tumor-initiating cells (TICs) can be identified using the cell surface marker CD44 and that they form floating spheres in culture, but the authors could not obtain consistent results with their patient-derived tumor xenograft cells. They thus searched for another marker for gastric TICs, and found that CD49f^high cells from newly-dissected gastric cancers formed tumors with histological features of parental ones while CD49f^low cells did not when subcutaneously injected into immunodeficient mice. [PLoS One]
Full Article

Bufalin Inhibits the Differentiation and Proliferation of Human Osteosarcoma Cell Line hMG63-Derived Cancer Stem Cells
The authors developed a new strategy to enrich cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the human osteosarcoma cell line hMG63. Using these CSCs as model, they tested the effect of bufalin, a traditional Chinese medicine, on the proliferation and differentiation of CSCs. [Tumour Biol] Abstract

Therapy Targets in Glioblastoma and Cancer Stem Cells: Lessons from Hematopoietic Neoplasms
This review focuses on putative novel therapy targets represented by markers described to define cancer stem/initiating cells in malignant gliomas, which have been called ‘leukemia of the brain’, given their rapid migration and evolution. Parallels are drawn with other cancers, especially hematopoietic, given the similar rampant proliferation and treatment resistance of glioblastoma multiforme and secondary acute leukemias. [J Cell Mol Med] Full Article

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Stem Cell Therapeutics Advances CD47 Antagonist Program into IND-Enabling Phase
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. announced that it has advanced its CD47 antagonist program into an Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling phase. In collaboration with a contract manufacturing organization, Stem Cell Therapeutics will begin the manufacturing process to generate drug for formal toxicology studies and a subsequent Phase I clinical study, which is anticipated to begin in H2/2015. [Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp.] Press Release

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