Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp
The conversion of healthy stem cells into cancer stem cells (CSCs) is believed to underlie tumor relapse after surgical removal and fuel tumor growth and invasiveness. CSCs often arise from the malignant transformation of resident multipotent stem cells, which are present in most human tissues. Some...
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/9/12/426 |
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| author | Crende Olatz García-Gallastegui Patricia Luzuriaga Jon Badiola Iker de la Hoz Carmen Unda Fernando Ibarretxe Gaskon Pineda Jose Ramon |
| author_facet | Crende Olatz García-Gallastegui Patricia Luzuriaga Jon Badiola Iker de la Hoz Carmen Unda Fernando Ibarretxe Gaskon Pineda Jose Ramon |
| author_sort | Crende Olatz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The conversion of healthy stem cells into cancer stem cells (CSCs) is believed to underlie tumor relapse after surgical removal and fuel tumor growth and invasiveness. CSCs often arise from the malignant transformation of resident multipotent stem cells, which are present in most human tissues. Some organs, such as the gut and the brain, can give rise to very aggressive types of cancers, contrary to the dental pulp, which is a tissue with a very remarkable resistance to oncogenesis. In this review, we focus on the similarities and differences between gut, brain and dental pulp stem cells and their related CSCs, placing a particular emphasis on both their shared and distinctive cell markers, including the expression of pluripotency core factors. We discuss some of their similarities and differences with regard to oncogenic signaling, telomerase activity and their intrinsic propensity to degenerate to CSCs. We also explore the characteristics of the events and mutations leading to malignant transformation in each case. Importantly, healthy dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) share a great deal of features with many of the so far reported CSC phenotypes found in malignant neoplasms. However, there exist literally no reports about the contribution of DPSCs to malignant tumors. This raises the question about the particularities of the dental pulp and what specific barriers to malignancy might be present in the case of this tissue. These notable differences warrant further research to decipher the singular properties of DPSCs that make them resistant to transformation, and to unravel new therapeutic targets to treat deadly tumors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48971bc3c2904b64b171470d5f0f1d9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-48971bc3c2904b64b171470d5f0f1d9c2023-11-20T22:35:15ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372020-11-0191242610.3390/biology9120426Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental PulpCrende Olatz0García-Gallastegui Patricia1Luzuriaga Jon2Badiola Iker3de la Hoz Carmen4Unda Fernando5Ibarretxe Gaskon6Pineda Jose Ramon7Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940 Leioa, SpainThe conversion of healthy stem cells into cancer stem cells (CSCs) is believed to underlie tumor relapse after surgical removal and fuel tumor growth and invasiveness. CSCs often arise from the malignant transformation of resident multipotent stem cells, which are present in most human tissues. Some organs, such as the gut and the brain, can give rise to very aggressive types of cancers, contrary to the dental pulp, which is a tissue with a very remarkable resistance to oncogenesis. In this review, we focus on the similarities and differences between gut, brain and dental pulp stem cells and their related CSCs, placing a particular emphasis on both their shared and distinctive cell markers, including the expression of pluripotency core factors. We discuss some of their similarities and differences with regard to oncogenic signaling, telomerase activity and their intrinsic propensity to degenerate to CSCs. We also explore the characteristics of the events and mutations leading to malignant transformation in each case. Importantly, healthy dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) share a great deal of features with many of the so far reported CSC phenotypes found in malignant neoplasms. However, there exist literally no reports about the contribution of DPSCs to malignant tumors. This raises the question about the particularities of the dental pulp and what specific barriers to malignancy might be present in the case of this tissue. These notable differences warrant further research to decipher the singular properties of DPSCs that make them resistant to transformation, and to unravel new therapeutic targets to treat deadly tumors.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/9/12/426stem cellscancer stem cellsdental pulp stem cellsgliomacolorectal cancercell markers |
| spellingShingle | Crende Olatz García-Gallastegui Patricia Luzuriaga Jon Badiola Iker de la Hoz Carmen Unda Fernando Ibarretxe Gaskon Pineda Jose Ramon Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp Biology stem cells cancer stem cells dental pulp stem cells glioma colorectal cancer cell markers |
| title | Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp |
| title_full | Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp |
| title_fullStr | Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp |
| title_short | Is There Such a Thing as a Genuine Cancer Stem Cell Marker? Perspectives from the Gut, the Brain and the Dental Pulp |
| title_sort | is there such a thing as a genuine cancer stem cell marker perspectives from the gut the brain and the dental pulp |
| topic | stem cells cancer stem cells dental pulp stem cells glioma colorectal cancer cell markers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/9/12/426 |
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