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Chu X, Tian W, Ning J, Xiao G, Zhou Y, Wang Z, Zhai Z, Tanzhu G, Yang J, Zhou R. Cancer stem cells: advances in knowledge and implications for cancer therapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2024; 9:170. [PMID: 38965243 PMCID: PMC11224386 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-024-01851-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small subset of cells in tumors that are characterized by self-renewal and continuous proliferation, lead to tumorigenesis, metastasis, and maintain tumor heterogeneity. Cancer continues to be a significant global disease burden. In the past, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were the main cancer treatments. The technology of cancer treatments continues to develop and advance, and the emergence of targeted therapy, and immunotherapy provides more options for patients to a certain extent. However, the limitations of efficacy and treatment resistance are still inevitable. Our review begins with a brief introduction of the historical discoveries, original hypotheses, and pathways that regulate CSCs, such as WNT/β-Catenin, hedgehog, Notch, NF-κB, JAK/STAT, TGF-β, PI3K/AKT, PPAR pathway, and their crosstalk. We focus on the role of CSCs in various therapeutic outcomes and resistance, including how the treatments affect the content of CSCs and the alteration of related molecules, CSCs-mediated therapeutic resistance, and the clinical value of targeting CSCs in patients with refractory, progressed or advanced tumors. In summary, CSCs affect therapeutic efficacy, and the treatment method of targeting CSCs is still difficult to determine. Clarifying regulatory mechanisms and targeting biomarkers of CSCs is currently the mainstream idea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianjing Chu
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Wentao Tian
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Jiaoyang Ning
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Gang Xiao
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Yunqi Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Ziqi Wang
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Zhuofan Zhai
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Guilong Tanzhu
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
- Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
| | - Rongrong Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
- Xiangya Lung Cancer Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410008, China.
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Zhou H, Chen M, Zhao C, Shao R, Xu Y, Zhao W. The Natural Product Secoemestrin C Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells via p38-S100A8 Feed-Forward Regulatory Loop. Cells 2024; 13:620. [PMID: 38607060 PMCID: PMC11011747 DOI: 10.3390/cells13070620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are closely associated with tumor initiation, metastasis, chemoresistance, and recurrence, which represent some of the primary obstacles to cancer treatment. Targeting CSCs has become an important therapeutic approach to cancer care. Secoemestrin C (Sec C) is a natural compound with strong anti-tumor activity and low toxicity. Here, we report that Sec C effectively inhibited colorectal CSCs and non-CSCs concurrently, mainly by inhibiting proliferation, self-renewal, metastasis, and drug resistance. Mechanistically, RNA-seq analysis showed that the pro-inflammation pathway of the IL17 axis was enriched, and its effector S100A8 was dramatically decreased in Sec C-treated cells, whose roles in the stemness of CSCs have not been fully clarified. We found that the overexpression of S100A8 hindered the anti-CSCs effect of Sec C, and S100A8 deficiency attenuated the stemness traits of CSCs to enhance the Sec C killing activity on them. Meanwhile, the p38 signal pathway, belonging to the IL17 downstream axis, can also mediate CSCs and counter with Sec C. Notably, we found that S100A8 upregulation increased the p38 protein level, and p38, in turn, promoted S100A8 expression. This indicated that p38 may have a mutual feedback loop with S100A8. Our study discovered that Sec C was a powerful anti-colorectal CSC agent, and that the positive feedback loop of p38-S100A8 mediated Sec C activity. This showed that Sec C could act as a promising clinical candidate in colorectal cancer treatment, and S100A8 could be a prospective drug target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, Key Laboratory of Antibiotic Bioengineering, Ministry of Health, Laboratory of Oncology, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China; (H.Z.); (C.Z.); (R.S.)
| | - Minghua Chen
- NHC Key Laboratory of Biotechnology of Antibiotics, National Center for New Microbial Drug Screening, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 1 Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, China;
| | - Cong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, Key Laboratory of Antibiotic Bioengineering, Ministry of Health, Laboratory of Oncology, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China; (H.Z.); (C.Z.); (R.S.)
| | - Rongguang Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, Key Laboratory of Antibiotic Bioengineering, Ministry of Health, Laboratory of Oncology, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China; (H.Z.); (C.Z.); (R.S.)
| | - Yanni Xu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Biotechnology of Antibiotics, National Center for New Microbial Drug Screening, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 1 Tiantan Xili, Beijing 100050, China;
| | - Wuli Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, Key Laboratory of Antibiotic Bioengineering, Ministry of Health, Laboratory of Oncology, Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China; (H.Z.); (C.Z.); (R.S.)
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Jiang H, Liu J, Song Y, Lei J. Quantitative Modeling of Stemness in Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Data: A Nonlinear One-Class Support Vector Machine Method. J Comput Biol 2024; 31:41-57. [PMID: 38010500 DOI: 10.1089/cmb.2022.0484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Intratumoral heterogeneity and the presence of cancer stem cells are challenging issues in cancer therapy. An appropriate quantification of the stemness of individual cells for assessing the potential for self-renewal and differentiation from the cell of origin can define a measurement for quantifying different cell states, which is important in understanding the dynamics of cancer evolution, and might further provide possible targeted therapies aimed at tumor stem cells. Nevertheless, it is usually difficult to quantify the stemness of a cell based on molecular information associated with the cell. In this study, we proposed a stemness definition method with one-class Hadamard kernel support vector machine (OCHSVM) based on single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Applications of the proposed OCHSVM stemness are assessed by various data sets, including preimplantation embryo cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, or tumor cells. We further compared the OCHSVM model with state-of-the-art methods CytoTRACE, one-class logistic regression, or one-class SVM methods with different kernels. The computational results demonstrate that the OCHSVM method is more suitable for stemness identification using scRNA-seq data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jiang
- School of Mathematics, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
| | - Jingxin Liu
- School of Software, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - You Song
- School of Software, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinzhi Lei
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Center for Applied Mathematics, Tiangong University, Tianjin, China
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Liu Y, Wang H. Biomarkers and targeted therapy for cancer stem cells. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2024; 45:56-66. [PMID: 38071088 PMCID: PMC10842814 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subpopulation of cancer cells with capabilities of self-renewal, differentiation, and tumorigenicity, and play a critical role in driving tumor heterogeneity that evolves insensitivity to therapeutics. For these reasons, extensive efforts have been made to identify and target CSCs to potentially improve the antitumor efficacy of therapeutics. While progress has been made to uncover certain CSC-associated biomarkers, the identification of CSC-specific markers, especially the targetable ones, remains a significant challenge. Here we provide an overview of the unique signaling and metabolic pathways of CSCs, summarize existing CSC biomarkers and CSC-targeted therapies, and discuss strategies to further differentiate CSCs from non-stem cancer cells and healthy cells for the development of enhanced CSC-targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusheng Liu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Hua Wang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL), Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Carle College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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Fan L, Wang X, Cheng C, Wang S, Li X, Cui J, Zhang B, Shi L. Inhibitory Effect and Mechanism of Ursolic Acid on Cisplatin-Induced Resistance and Stemness in Human Lung Cancer A549 Cells. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE : ECAM 2023; 2023:1307323. [PMID: 37089712 PMCID: PMC10121351 DOI: 10.1155/2023/1307323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
The survival rate of lung cancer patients remains low largely due to chemotherapy resistance during treatment, and cancer stem cells (CSCs) may hold the key to targeting this resistance. Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug commonly used in cancer treatment, yet the mechanisms of intrinsic cisplatin resistance have not yet been determined because lung CSCs are hard to identify. In this paper, we proposed a mechanism relating to the function of ursolic acid (UA), a new drug, in reversing the cisplatin resistance of lung cancer cells regulated by CSCs. Human lung cancer cell line A549 was selected as the model cell and treated to become a cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cell line (A549-CisR), which was less sensitive to cisplatin and showed an enhanced capability of tumor sphere formation. Furthermore, in the A549-CisR cell line expression, levels of pluripotent stem cell transcription factors Oct-4, Sox-2, and c-Myc were increased, and activation of the Jak2/Stat3 signaling pathway was promoted. When UA was applied to the cisplatin-resistant cells, levels of the pluripotent stem cell transcription factors were restrained by the inhibition of the Jak2/Stat3 signaling pathway, which reduced the enrichment of tumor stem cells, and in turn, reversed cisplatin resistance in lung cancer cells. Hence, as a potential antitumor drug, UA may be able to inhibit the enrichment of the lung CSC population by inhibiting the activation of the Jak2-Stat3 pathway and preventing the resistance of lung cancer cells to cisplatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luxin Fan
- Department of Respiratory, Weifang People's Hospital, Weifang 261041, China
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- Microbiological Laboratory, Weifang Inspection and Testing Center, Weifang 261100, China
| | - Congcong Cheng
- Department of Oncology, Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Qingzhou 262500, China
| | - Shuxiao Wang
- Intravenous Drug Dispensing Center, Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250033, China
| | - Xuesong Li
- School of Clinical Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053, China
| | - Jiayu Cui
- School of Clinical Medicine, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053, China
| | - Baogang Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053, China
| | - Lihong Shi
- School of Pharmacy, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053, China
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Zhang Z, Deng Q, Xiao C, Li Z, Yang X. Rational Design of Nanotherapeutics Based on the Five Features Principle for Potent Elimination of Cancer Stem Cells. Acc Chem Res 2022; 55:526-536. [PMID: 35077133 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also known as tumor initiating cells or tumor repopulating cells, which comprise only a small fraction of tumor, have received tremendous attention during the past two decades, as they are considered as the ringleader for initiation and progression of tumors, therapy resistance, metastasis, and recurrence in the clinic. Hence, eradicating CSCs is critical for successful cancer treatment. To that end, various CSC-targeting therapeutic agents have been pursued. However, these CSC-specific drugs are ineffective toward bulk cancer cells. Furthermore, these anti-CSC drugs not only eradicate CSCs but also affect conventional stem cells in normal organs or tissues. By virtue of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, nanomaterial drug delivery systems (NDDSs) passively accumulate in tumor tissues, thereby alleviating severe side effects toward normal viscera. NDDSs can be further functionalized with CSC-specific binding molecules to promote targeted drug delivery toward CSCs. Moreover, NDDSs have unique advantages in encapsulating CSC-specific drugs and cytotoxic agents, realizing synchronized killing of CSCs and bulk cancer cells both temporally and spatially. For these reasons, leveraging nanotherapeutic strategies to target CSCs has gained tremendous attention recently.Some ten years ago, we summarized five basic features of efficient nanotherapeutics (the five features principle), which consist of long circulation, tumor accumulation, deep penetration, cellular internalization, and drug release. Based on this design rationale, we constructed several NDDSs, including nanogels with adaptive hydrophobicity, CSC-derived microparticles with tailored softness, and tumor exosome sheathed porous silicon biomimetic nanoparticles, for targeted drug delivery to tumor. To our astonishment, these NDDSs that possess the five basic features achieve decent drug delivery efficiency toward not only bulk tumor cells but more importantly CSCs. Consequently, such nanotherapeutics as-designed based on the five features principle are potent in eradicating CSCs, even with only cytotoxic drugs, for instance, doxorubicin. Furthermore, commercialized nanomedicines, such as Doxil and Abraxane, can be endowed with these five basic features by hyperbaric oxygen therapy and therefore achieve outstanding drug delivery efficiency, potent CSC elimination, and efficient cancer therapy. These studies suggest that intractable CSCs can be tackled with a material-based approach, highlight the critical role of the five features principle in designing effective nanotherapeutics, and pinpoint the significance of drug delivery efficiency in eliminating CSCs and bulk cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijie Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
| | - Qingyuan Deng
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
| | - Chen Xiao
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
| | - Zifu Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medical, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, High Tech Road 666, East Lake high tech Zone, Wuhan 430040, P. R. China
| | - Xiangliang Yang
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medical, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
- GBA Research Innovation Institute for Nanotechnology, Guangdong 510530, P. R. China
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Targeting Cancer Stem Cells by Dietary Agents: An Important Therapeutic Strategy against Human Malignancies. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222111669. [PMID: 34769099 PMCID: PMC8584029 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As a multifactorial disease, treatment of cancer depends on understanding unique mechanisms involved in its progression. The cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumor stemness and by enhancing colony formation, proliferation as well as metastasis, and these cells can also mediate resistance to therapy. Furthermore, the presence of CSCs leads to cancer recurrence and therefore their complete eradication can have immense therapeutic benefits. The present review focuses on targeting CSCs by natural products in cancer therapy. The growth and colony formation capacities of CSCs have been reported can be attenuated by the dietary agents. These compounds can induce apoptosis in CSCs and reduce tumor migration and invasion via EMT inhibition. A variety of molecular pathways including STAT3, Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog, Gli1 and NF-κB undergo down-regulation by dietary agents in suppressing CSC features. Upon exposure to natural agents, a significant decrease occurs in levels of CSC markers including CD44, CD133, ALDH1, Oct4 and Nanog to impair cancer stemness. Furthermore, CSC suppression by dietary agents can enhance sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In addition to in vitro studies, as well as experiments on the different preclinical models have shown capacity of natural products in suppressing cancer stemness. Furthermore, use of nanostructures for improving therapeutic impact of dietary agents is recommended to rapidly translate preclinical findings for clinical use.
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