MET Signaling in Colon Cancer Stem-Like Cells Blunts the Therapeutic Response to EGFR Inhibitors Scientists systematically generated colon cancer-initiating cells (CC-ICs) through spheroid cultures of patient-derived xenografts of metastatic colorectal cancer. These cultures, termed “xenospheres”, were capable of long-term self-propagation in vitro and phenocopied the original patient tumors in vivo, thus operationally defining CC-ICs. [Cancer Res] Abstract A Cell-Penetrating Peptide Based on the Interaction between c-Src and Connexin43 Reverses Glioma Stem Cell Phenotype The authors investigated the mechanism by which Connexin43 (Cx43) exerts its antitumorigenic effects on glioma stem cells. They focused on the tyrosine kinase c-Src, which interacts with the intracellular carboxy tail of Cx43. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article CAF-Secreted Annexin A1 Induces Prostate Cancer Cells to Gain Stem Cell-Like Features Compared to controls, Annexin A1 enhanced stem cell-like properties in high- and medium expression subpopulations of sorted a tumor cell line and primary cells: in vitro, through formation of greater number of spheroids with increased complexity; and in vivo, through generation of more, larger and histologically complex glandular structures, along with increased expression of p63, a basal/progenitor marker. [Mol Cancer Res] Abstract DEspR Roles in Tumor Vasculo-Angiogenesis, Invasiveness, CSC-Survival and Anoikis Resistance: A ‘Common Receptor Coordinator’ Paradigm Scientists showed that functional analysis of the dual endothelin1/VEGFsignal peptide receptor, DEspR, supports the putative common receptor paradigm in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma selected for their invasiveness, CD133+ cancer stem cells (CSCs), and polar angiogenic features. [PLoS One] Full Article Heat Shock Protein DNAJB8 Is a Novel Target for Immunotherapy of Colon Cancer-Initiating Cells Scientists found that a heat shock protein 40 family member, DnaJ homolog, subfamily B, member 8 (DNAJB8), is preferentially expressed in cancer stem-like cells/cancer-initiating cells (CSCs/CICs) derived from colorectal cancer cells rather than in non-CSCs/CICs. [Cancer Sci] Abstract Survivin-Responsive Conditionally Replicating Adenovirus Kills Rhabdomyosarcoma Stem Cells More Efficiently than Their Progeny Researchers examined the therapeutic potentials of a survivin-responsive conditionally replicating adenoviruses regulated with multiple factors against rhabdomyosarcoma stem cells, in order to assess its clinical effectiveness and usefulness. [J Transl Med] Abstract | Full Article MicroRNA-300 Promotes Self-Renewal and Inhibits the Differentiation of Glioma Stem-Like Cells Investigators isolated glioma stem-like cells from glioma biopsy specimens and identified the stemness properties of the cells through neurosphere formation assays, multilineage differentiation ability analysis, and immunofluorescence analysis of glioma stem cell markers. [J Mol Neurosci] Abstract | Full Article Hsa-miR-520d Induces Hepatoma Cells to Form Normal Liver Tissues via a Stemness-Mediated Process The human ncRNA gene RGM249 regulates the extent of differentiation of cancer cells and the conversion of 293FT cells to hiPSCs. To identify the factors underlying this process, scientists investigated the effects of lentivirally inducing miR-520d expression in 293FT and HLF cells in vitro. [Sci Rep] Full Article _645x110.jpg) |