Cancer Stem Cell News Volume 5.48 | Dec 7 2016

TOP STORY

Targeting the Notch-Regulated Non-Coding RNA TUG1 for Glioma Treatment

Researchers found that Notch1 activation in glioma stem cells specifically induced expression of the lncRNA, TUG1. TUG1 coordinately promoted self-renewal by sponging miR-145 in the cytoplasm and recruiting polycomb to repress differentiation genes by locus-specific methylation of histone H3K27 via YY1-binding activity in the nucleus. [Nat Commun] Full Article

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LncBRM Initiates YAP1 Signaling Activation to Drive Self-Renewal of Liver Cancer Stem Cells

Through analysis of transcriptome microarray data, the authors identified a long noncoding RNA called lncBRM, which is highly expressed in liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) and hepatocellular carcinoma tumors. LncBRM is required for the self-renewal maintenance of liver CSCs and tumor initiation. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Inhibiting the SUMO Pathway Represses the Cancer Stem Cell Population in Breast and Colorectal Carcinomas

Scientists demonstrated that inhibition of the SUMO pathway repressed MMP14 and CD44 with a concomitant reduction in cell invasiveness and functional loss of cancer stem cells in basal breast cancer. Identical results were obtained in a colorectal cancer cell line and primary colon cancer cells. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Myofibroblasts Derived from Hepatic Progenitor Cells Create the Tumor Microenvironment

Researchers found that hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) isolated from the chronically injured liver also gave rise to myofibroblasts as a third type of descendant. While myofibroblast differentiation from HPCs was not significant in culture, during tumor development, HPCs contributed to the formation of the tumor microenvironment by producing abundant myofibroblasts. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Doxorubicin-Induced Mitophagy Contributes to Drug Resistance in Cancer Stem Cells from HCT8 Human Colorectal Cancer Cells

To investigate the potential role of mitophagy in drug resistance in cancer stem cells (CSCs), investigators purified CD133⁺/CD44⁺ CSCs from HCT8 human colorectal cancer cells and then exposed to doxorubicin (DXR). Compared with parental cells, CSCs were more resistant to DXR treatment. [Cancer Lett] Abstract

YAP1 Regulates ABCG2 and Cancer Cell Side Population in Human Lung Cancer Cells

ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2 (ABCG2) plays a role in side population (SP) cell formation and contributes to chemotherapy resistance in common forms of cancer. Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is a major transcriptional effector of the Hippo pathway, which plays important roles in organ size control and tumorigenesis. Researchers found ABCG2 and YAP1 were both overexpressed in lung cancer SP cells. [Oncotarget] Full Article

Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 Regulates Beta-Catenin Signaling to Maintain Glioma Stem-Like Stemness and Self-Renewal

Previous studies suggested that AEG-1, an oncogene upregulated in most types of cancers including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), plays a focal role linking multiple signaling pathways in tumorigenesis. Scientists reported a crucial role of AEG-1 in glioma stem cell biology. AEG-1 was upregulated in all GBM neurospheres compared with normal neural stem cells. [Mol Cancer Res] Abstract

Bile Acid: A Potential Inducer of Colon Cancer Stem Cells

Investigators found that deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid induced cancer stem cells (CSCs) in normal human colonic epithelial cells, as evidenced by the increased proportion of CSCs, elevated levels of several CSC markers, as well as a number of epithelial–mesenchymal transition markers. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Activation of D2 Dopamine Receptors in CD133⁺ Cancer Stem Cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Inhibits Proliferation, Clonogenic Ability and Invasiveness of These Cells

Recurrence and metastasis of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) correlates well with CD133⁺ tumor cells, a small population of tumor cells, which has been designated as cancer stem cells. Scientists demonstrated high expression of D2 dopamine receptors in CD133⁺ adenocarcinoma NSCLC cells. [J Biol Chem] Abstract

Objective Analysis of Cancer Stem Cell Marker Expression Using Immunohistochemistry

To assess the effect that region selection and quantification method have on results, five different cancer stem cell markers were used by the authors to compare tissue scoring with digital analysis methods that used three different tissue annotation methods. [Pathology] Abstract

The Bad Seed Gardener: Deubiquitinases in the Cancer Stem-Cell Signaling Network and Therapeutic Resistance

The authors review the concept of ubiquitin proteasome system and hallmarks of cancer stem cells (CSCs) related to tumor obstinacy. They primarily summarize the CSC-related factors and signaling pathways and focus on the function of deubiquitinases on biological traits of CSCs. [Pharmacol Ther] Abstract

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Phase III Studies Present Additional Evidence for REVLIMID^® as Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma

Celgene Corporation announced results from two studies evaluating the investigational use of REVLIMID^® maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma. [Press release from Celgene Corporation discussing research presented at 58^th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, San Diego] Press Release

Kite Pharma Presents Results of Multi-Center Pivotal ZUMA-1 Trial of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Kite Pharma, Inc. presented results from the ZUMA-1 trial of axicabtagene ciloleucel in patients with chemorefractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma in two oral presentations. [Press release from Kite Pharma, Inc. discussing research presented at 58^th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, San Diego] Press Release

American Cancer Society Approves New Research and Training Grants at Yale University

The American Cancer Society has approved funding for three new research grants totaling over $1.7 million to investigators at Yale University. These grants are among 11 new projects in effect across New England as of January 1, 2017 totaling more than $4.4 million dollars. [Yale School of Medicine] Press Release

AbbVie and Johns Hopkins to Collaborate on Cancer Research

AbbVie and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announced that they signed a five-year collaboration agreement with the goal of advancing medical oncology research and discovery at both organizations. Designed to build strong collaboration between AbbVie and Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, the agreement will focus on several areas of oncology research, which could include lung, colorectal, breast, prostate and hematological cancer. [AbbVie Inc.] Press Release

Stopgap Spending Bill Leaves US Scientists in Limbo

In what has become a year-end tradition in Washington DC, the US Congress is getting ready to approve a stopgap spending measure before it adjourns for the holidays. Many researchers are more worried about what might come after this temporary funding extension, if it is approved. When president-elect Donald Trump takes office, Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress — and their science priorities are very different from those of outgoing President Barack Obama, a Democrat. [Nature News] Editorial

Mexico Proposal to Ban Human-Embryo Research Would Stifle Science

Researchers are waiting to see whether Mexico’s legislature will approve an amendment to the national health law that would ban experiments with human embryos. The amendment is intended to regulate assisted reproduction, including the payment of surrogate mothers, donations to egg and sperm banks and the fertilization of more than three eggs at a time. But it would also ban the creation of human embryos for any purpose except reproduction and any research with existing human embryos. [Nature News] Editorial

CRISPR Heavyweights Battle in US Patent Court

Berkeley and its rival, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are each vying for the intellectual property underlying CRISPR–Cas9, which is adapted from a system that bacteria use to fend off viruses. During the hearing the US Patent and Trademark Office judges challenged Berkeley’s central claim: that once its researchers demonstrated that CRISPR–Cas9 could be used to edit DNA in bacteria, any reasonably skilled person could have adapted the technique for use in more complex cells. [Nature News] Editorial

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January 8-12, 2017
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February 27-28, 2017
New York City, United States

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NEW Postgraduate Research Associate – Organic/Medicinal Chemistry (University of Oxford)

Assistant Professor – Molecular Therapeutics of Cancer (Dartmouth College)

Postdoctoral Position – Computational Biology/Bioinformatics (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Computational Cancer Genomics (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

Assistant Professor – Cancer Research (National University of Singapore)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Research (National University of Singapore)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Immunotherapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Viruses & Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – RNA Biology and Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Liver Cancer and Developmental Biology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pancreas Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Genetics/Epigenetics (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cell Cycle Control and Tumorigenesis (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Ubiquitin System and Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Tumor Immunology (Moffitt Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Computational Cancer Biologist (University of Oxford)

Postdoctoral Position – Computational RNA Bioinformatics (Buchmann Institut of Molecular Life Sciences)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Statistical Computing in Cancer Research and Personalized Medicine (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

Tier 2 Canada Research Chair – Pharmacology (University of Ottawa)

Assistant Professor – Cancer Biology, Cancer Genomics and Precision Medicine (Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Physical Oncology (Houston Methodist Research Institute)

Assistant, Associate or Full Professor – Cancer Biology (University of Pennsylvania)

Research Scientist – Epigenetic Mechanisms Involving Histone Deacetylases, Methyltransferases and Demethylases (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Associate Professor – Experimental Radiation Oncology (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

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