Cancer Stem Cell News Volume 3.05 | Feb 12 2014

shRNA Kinome Screen Identifies TBK1 as a Therapeutic Target for HER2⁺ Breast Cancer
Scientists showed that MMTV-Her2/Neu mammary tumor cells cultured as non-adherent spheres or as adherent monolayer cells select for stabilizing mutations in p53 that “immortalize” the cultures, and that after serial passages, sphere conditions maintain tumor-initiating cells whereas monolayer cells gradually lose these tumorigenic cells. [Cancer Res] Abstract

Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (CD166); An ‘Inert’ Cancer Stem Cell Marker for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?
CD166 was identified as an ‘inert’ cancer stem cell marker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Researchers evaluated the expression of CD166 using immunohistochemistry in a large cohort of NSCLC patients on a tissue microarray basis. [Stem Cells] Abstract

EMT and Acquisition of Stem Cell-Like Properties Are Involved in Spontaneous Formation of Tumorigenic Hybrids between Lung Cancer and Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Investigators found that spontaneously-formed tumorigenic hybrids between bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and three different non-small cell lung cancer cell lines contributed to highly malignant subpopulations with both epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem cell-like properties. [PLoS One] Full Article

Response of Breast Cancer Cells and Cancer Stem Cells to Metformin and Hyperthermia Alone or Combined
Metformin was preferentially cytotoxic to CD44^high/CD24^low cells of MCF-7 cells and, CD44^high/CD24^high cells of MIA PaCa-2 cells, which are known to be cancer stem cells of MCF-7 cells and MIA PaCa-2 cells, respectively. [PLoS One] Full Article

Loss of WISP2/CCN5 in Estrogen-Dependent MCF7 Human Breast Cancer Cells Promotes a Stem-Like Cell Phenotype
Researchers report that loss of Wnt-1-induced signaling protein-2 (WISP2) in MCF7 breast cancer cells can also promote the emergence of a cancer stem-like cell phenotype characterized by high expression of CD44, increased aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and mammosphere formation. [PLoS One] Full Article

Attenuated Listeria monocytogenes as a Cancer Vaccine Vector for the Delivery of CD24, a Biomarker for Hepatic Cancer Stem Cells
A new strategy involving genetic modification of the replication-deficient Listeria monocytogenes strain ΔdalΔdat (Lmdd) to express and secrete human CD24 protein has been developed. CD24 is a hepatic cancer stem cell biomarker that is closely associated with apoptosis, metastasis and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma. After intravenous administration in mice, Lmdd-CD24 was distributed primarily in the spleen and liver and did not cause severe organ injury. [Cell Mol Immunol] Abstract

Expression of the Cancer Stem Cell Markers CD44v6 and ABCG2 in Tongue Cancer: Effect of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Local Recurrence
Scientists showed that a deep surgical margin was resected very close to the tumor site in many neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)-treated oral squamous cell carcinoma patients, suggesting that NAC may lead to local recurrence and poor outcomes. [Int J Oncol] Abstract

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Discontinuation of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and New Approaches to Target Leukemic Stem Cells: Treatment-Free Remission as a New Goal in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
The authors report the results of several published discontinuation studies and critically discuss the new approaches and tools to monitor residual disease during treatment and new strategies to target leukemic stem cells to reach a potential “operational” cure and persistent long-term leukemia-free survival. [Cancer Lett] Abstract

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City of Hope Researcher Receives Five Grants Totaling $450,000 to Fight Pediatric Brain Tumors
Despite continual advances in the treatment of brain tumors, infants and children diagnosed with medulloblastoma – a fast-growing tumor in the cerebellum portion of the brain – still face significant challenges overcoming this disease. One particularly tricky obstacle is the blood-brain barrier, which prevents cancer drugs from passing into the brain and attacking the tumor. Margarita Gutova, M.D. may have found a way to bypass that hurdle – using neural stem cells. [Newswise, Inc.] Press Release | Video

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Postdoctoral Position – Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Division (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Stem Cell Signaling and Epigenetics (Fondazione Istituto Nazionale Genetica Molecolare)

Research Assistant – Stem Cell & Leukemia Epigenetic (King’s College London)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Morphogenetic Signaling Pathways in Development and Disease (University of Rochester Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School)

Postdoctoral Position – Epigenetics and Cancer Biology (MPI Bad Nauheim)

PhD Candidates – Stem Cells and Biomedical Engineering (Queensland University of Technology)

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