IRAK1 Is a Therapeutic Target that Drives Breast Cancer Metastasis and Resistance to Paclitaxel Paclitaxel treatment induced strong interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) phosphorylation, an increase in inflammatory cytokine expression, enrichment of cancer stem cells and acquired resistance to paclitaxel treatment. [Nat Commun] Full Article Targeting Cancer Stem Cell in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer Scientists demonstrated immortalized normal human prostate epithelial cells, which appeared non-tumorigenic in vivo, become tumorigenic and acquired a stem cell phenotype after knocking down a tumor suppressor gene. [Clin Cancer Res] Abstract FOXC1 Activates Smoothened-Independent Hedgehog Signaling in Basal-Like Breast Cancer Scientists demonstrated that FOXC1 controls cancer stem cell (CSC) properties enriched in basal-like breast cancer cells via activation of Smoothened-independent Hedgehog (Hh) signaling. This non-canonical activation of Hh is specifically mediated by Gli2. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Cardamonin Reduces Chemotherapy-Enriched Breast Cancer Stem-Like Cells In Vitro and In Vivo Investigators demonstrated that cardamonin, a small molecule, selectively inhibits breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) that have been enriched by chemotherapeutic drugs. In addition, cardamonin also sufficiently prevents the enrichment of CSCs when simultaneously used with chemotherapeutic drugs. [Oncotarget] Full Article miRNA-Regulated Delivery of lincRNA-p21 Suppresses β-Catenin Signaling and Tumorigenicity of Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells The authors report that large intergenic non-coding RNA p21 (lincRNA-p21) is a potent suppressor of stem-like traits of cancer stem cells purified from both primary colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. [Oncotarget] Full Article Overshoot during Phenotypic Switching of Cancer Cell Populations Investigators sorted human melanoma cells using three distinct cancer stem cell (CSC) markers — CXCR6, CD271 and ABCG2 — and observed that the fraction of non-CSC-marked cells first overshoots to a higher level and then returns to the level of unsorted cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article The Role of miR-145 in Stem Cell Characteristics of Human Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Hep-2 Cells Researchers explored the role of miR-145, which is downregulated in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, on cancer stem cell potency of laryngeal cancer cells. They showed the downregulation of miR-145 expression in tumor tissue samples and in CD133-enriched cancer stem-like cells. [Tumor Biol] Abstract Enhanced G2/M Arrest, Caspase Related Apoptosis and Reduced E-Cadherin Dependent Intercellular Adhesion by Trabectedin in Prostate Cancer Stem Cells Investigators studied the effect of trabectedin in cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis and spheroid formation in prostate cancer stem cells. [PLoS One] Full Article Functional Studies of miR-130a on the Inhibitory Pathways of Apoptosis in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Scientists investigated the function of miR130a in p53 tumor suppressor signaling pathway. They performed microRNA expression profile analysis in chronic myeloid leukemia cancer stem cells of 38 cases and extracted total RNA from peripheral blood of 143 cases. [Cancer Gene Ther] Abstract |