Abstract
Stem cells are defined by their unique property to self-renew and starting from one single cell to generate all the different progenies required for tissue regeneration. In adults, stem cells are still present in the majority of tissues and organs where they are responsible for continuous organs and tissues homeostasis. Adult stem cells have been isolated in various tissues and all share common specific characteristics (localization in stem cell niches, drug transporter expression, adhesion, levels of apoptosis inhibitors, DNA methylation, … ) involved in high levels of drug resistance of this specific cell subtype. Several studies have identified different populations of cancer cells, within the same tumor, some of them which present properties closely related to normal stem cells and raised the concept of cancer stem cells. Interestingly, the cell surface markers expressed by these particular cancer cells are the same as those expressed by normal stem cells, suggesting that cancer can arise in some cases from the malignant transformation of stem cells. The cancer stem cell (CaSC) model predicts that, even if “conventional” cancer cells can be killed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, only the destruction of CaSC, considered responsible for relapse, will allow full recovery, thus demonstrating the importance of CaSCtargeting for patient outcome. Therapeutic innovations will emerge from a better understanding of the biology and environment of cancer stem cells. The tumor environment can create a niche favoring the survival and proliferation of CaSC. It also protects CaSC from chemotherapy- induced apoptosis. Clinically, it is crucial to get rid of quiescent and resistant cells and to adapt the therapeutic strategy to cancer stem cells sheltered in niches. Here, we review the major characteristics of cancer stem cells and their behavior in response to chemotherapy; we also highlight the main issues to be considered for efficient and specific cancer stem cell targeting.
Keywords: Cancer, stem cells, resistance, intrinsic, extrinsic, microenvironment, signaling, self-renewal
Current Medicinal Chemistry
Title: Cancer Stem Cells: The Emerging Challenge of Drug Targeting
Volume: 16 Issue: 4
Author(s): Roger Besancon, Sandrine Valsesia-Wittmann, Alain Puisieux, Claude Caron de Fromentel and Veronique Maguer-Satta
Affiliation:
Keywords: Cancer, stem cells, resistance, intrinsic, extrinsic, microenvironment, signaling, self-renewal
Abstract: Stem cells are defined by their unique property to self-renew and starting from one single cell to generate all the different progenies required for tissue regeneration. In adults, stem cells are still present in the majority of tissues and organs where they are responsible for continuous organs and tissues homeostasis. Adult stem cells have been isolated in various tissues and all share common specific characteristics (localization in stem cell niches, drug transporter expression, adhesion, levels of apoptosis inhibitors, DNA methylation, … ) involved in high levels of drug resistance of this specific cell subtype. Several studies have identified different populations of cancer cells, within the same tumor, some of them which present properties closely related to normal stem cells and raised the concept of cancer stem cells. Interestingly, the cell surface markers expressed by these particular cancer cells are the same as those expressed by normal stem cells, suggesting that cancer can arise in some cases from the malignant transformation of stem cells. The cancer stem cell (CaSC) model predicts that, even if “conventional” cancer cells can be killed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, only the destruction of CaSC, considered responsible for relapse, will allow full recovery, thus demonstrating the importance of CaSCtargeting for patient outcome. Therapeutic innovations will emerge from a better understanding of the biology and environment of cancer stem cells. The tumor environment can create a niche favoring the survival and proliferation of CaSC. It also protects CaSC from chemotherapy- induced apoptosis. Clinically, it is crucial to get rid of quiescent and resistant cells and to adapt the therapeutic strategy to cancer stem cells sheltered in niches. Here, we review the major characteristics of cancer stem cells and their behavior in response to chemotherapy; we also highlight the main issues to be considered for efficient and specific cancer stem cell targeting.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Besancon Roger, Valsesia-Wittmann Sandrine, Puisieux Alain, de Fromentel Caron Claude and Maguer-Satta Veronique, Cancer Stem Cells: The Emerging Challenge of Drug Targeting, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2009; 16 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986709787315531
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986709787315531 |
Print ISSN 0929-8673 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-533X |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Medicinal Chemistry: From Cancer to Chronic Diseases.
The broad spectrum of the issue will provide a comprehensive overview of emerging trends, novel therapeutic interventions, and translational insights that impact modern medicine. The primary focus will be diseases of global concern, including cancer, chronic pain, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune conditions, providing a broad overview of the advancements in ...read more
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Non-Infectious Inflammatory Diseases: Focus on Clinical Implications
The Special Issue covers the results of the studies on cellular and molecular mechanisms of non-infectious inflammatory diseases, in particular, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and other age-related disorders such as type II diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. Review and research articles as well as methodology papers that summarize ...read more
Chalcogen-modified nucleic acid analogues
Chalcogen-modified nucleosides, nucleotides and oligonucleotides have been of great interest to scientific research for many years. The replacement of oxygen in the nucleobase, sugar or phosphate backbone by chalcogen atoms (sulfur, selenium, tellurium) gives these biomolecules unique properties resulting from their altered physical and chemical properties. The continuing interest in ...read more
Current advances in inherited cardiomyopathy
Describe in detail all novel advances in multimodality imaging related to inherited cardiomyopathy diagnosis and prognosis. Shed light to deeper phenotypic characterization. Acknowledge recent advances in genetics, genomics and precision medicineread more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Anticancer Immunotherapy in Combination with Proapoptotic Therapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Curcumin in Thyroid Gland Disorders
Current Medicinal Chemistry Gene Expression Studies to Investigate Disease Mechanisms in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Does Angiogenesis Play a Role?
Current Rheumatology Reviews Cultured Adult Animal Neurons and Schwann Cells Give Us New Insights into Diabetic Neuropathy
Current Diabetes Reviews How does the Selection of Laboratory Mice Affect the Results of Physiological Distribution of Radiopharmaceuticals?
Current Radiopharmaceuticals Lipid Based Nanosystems for Curcumin: Past, Present and Future
Current Pharmaceutical Design Discovery and Hit to Lead Optimization of Novel Combretastatin A-4 Analogues: Dependence of C-Linker Length and Hybridization
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Current Patents on Osteoinductive Molecules for Bone Tissue Engineering
Recent Patents on Biomedical Engineering (Discontinued) Detection of Tumor Markers with ProteinChip® Technology
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Crosstalk of Long Non-coding RNAs and EMT: Searching the Missing Pieces of an Incomplete Puzzle for Lung Cancer Therapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Current Methods and Research Progress in Nanomaterials Risk Assessment
Current Drug Metabolism The Role of YY1 in Oncogenesis and Its Potential as a Drug Target in Cancer Therapies
Current Cancer Drug Targets Prevalence of Breast Complaints in Women with Mastopathy in Khorramabad
Current Women`s Health Reviews Recent Patents Involving Virus Nucleotide Sequences; Host Defense, RNA Silencing and Expression Vector Strategies
Recent Patents on DNA & Gene Sequences Tropical Ginger Extract as Protectant in Radiation Countermeasures
Current Traditional Medicine Engineered Peptides for Applications in Cancer-Targeted Drug Delivery and Tumor Detection
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Novel Compounds from Marine Microorganisms that Inhibit Mammalian DNA Polymerase
Current Organic Chemistry Potential Therapeutic Targets in Energy Metabolism Pathways of Breast Cancer
Current Cancer Drug Targets Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnancy and Metabolic Syndrome: A Review
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Antiproliferative Activity of microRNA-125a and its Molecular Targets
MicroRNA