EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells
Metastasis and tumor progression are the major cause of death in patients suffering from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Tumor growth and especially dissemination are typically associated with activation of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. This phenotypic transition from an e...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/11/8/1136 |
| _version_ | 1797726017504149504 |
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| author | Eva Rodriguez-Aznar Lisa Wiesmüller Bruno Sainz Patrick C. Hermann |
| author_facet | Eva Rodriguez-Aznar Lisa Wiesmüller Bruno Sainz Patrick C. Hermann |
| author_sort | Eva Rodriguez-Aznar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metastasis and tumor progression are the major cause of death in patients suffering from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Tumor growth and especially dissemination are typically associated with activation of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. This phenotypic transition from an epithelial to a mesenchymal state promotes migration and survival both during development and in cancer progression. When re-activated in pathological contexts such as cancer, this type of developmental process confers additional stemness properties to specific subsets of cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells with stem-like features that are responsible for the propagation of the tumor as well as therapy resistance and cancer relapse, but also for circulating tumor cell release and metastasis. In support of this concept, EMT transcription factors generate cells with stem cell properties and mediate chemoresistance. However, their role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma metastasis remains controversial. As such, a better characterization of CSC populations will be crucial in future development of therapies targeting these cells. In this review, we will discuss the latest updates on the mechanisms common to pancreas development and CSC-mediated tumor progression. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:39:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ddece3daffc490ba4a4f85a370199f2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:39:39Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ddece3daffc490ba4a4f85a370199f22023-09-02T08:19:22ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942019-08-01118113610.3390/cancers11081136cancers11081136EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem CellsEva Rodriguez-Aznar0Lisa Wiesmüller1Bruno Sainz2Patrick C. Hermann3Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyDivision of Gynecological Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Ulm, 89081 Ulm, GermanyDepartment of Biochemistry, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), 28029 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyMetastasis and tumor progression are the major cause of death in patients suffering from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Tumor growth and especially dissemination are typically associated with activation of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. This phenotypic transition from an epithelial to a mesenchymal state promotes migration and survival both during development and in cancer progression. When re-activated in pathological contexts such as cancer, this type of developmental process confers additional stemness properties to specific subsets of cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells with stem-like features that are responsible for the propagation of the tumor as well as therapy resistance and cancer relapse, but also for circulating tumor cell release and metastasis. In support of this concept, EMT transcription factors generate cells with stem cell properties and mediate chemoresistance. However, their role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma metastasis remains controversial. As such, a better characterization of CSC populations will be crucial in future development of therapies targeting these cells. In this review, we will discuss the latest updates on the mechanisms common to pancreas development and CSC-mediated tumor progression.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/11/8/1136cancer stem cellspancreatic cancermetastasisEMTstem cells |
| spellingShingle | Eva Rodriguez-Aznar Lisa Wiesmüller Bruno Sainz Patrick C. Hermann EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells Cancers cancer stem cells pancreatic cancer metastasis EMT stem cells |
| title | EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells |
| title_full | EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells |
| title_fullStr | EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells |
| title_short | EMT and Stemness—Key Players in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells |
| title_sort | emt and stemness key players in pancreatic cancer stem cells |
| topic | cancer stem cells pancreatic cancer metastasis EMT stem cells |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/11/8/1136 |
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