CSC news roundup 2009-11-26

• Distinct population of highly malignant cells in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell line established by xenograft model, 7thSpace Interactive, November 16, 2009 [J Biomed Sci 2009(Nov 16);16(1):100 (OA)][PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry].


• Tumor-initiating Cells Detected in Pten Null Prostate Cancer Model, PhysOrg.com, November 12, 2009 [Cancer Res 2009(Nov 15); 69(22):8555-62][PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry].


• Mouse Models for Cancer Stem Cell Research by Le Cheng and 4 co-authors, including Alexander Y Nikitin, Toxicol Pathol 2009(Nov 17) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation].


• Prognostic impact of ALDH1 in breast cancer: a story of stem cells and tumor microenvironment by Erika Resetkova and 6 co-authors, including Sunil Badve, Breast Cancer Res Treat 2009(Nov 13) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation][Connotea bookmark].


• Recognition and Killing of Brain Tumor Stem-Like Initiating Cells by CD8+ Cytolytic T Cells by Christine E Brown and 10 co-authors, including Michael C Jensen, Cancer Res 2009(Nov 10) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation][Connotea bookmark].


• Notch Pathway Blockade Depletes CD133-Positive Glioblastoma Cells and Inhibits Growth of Tumor Neurospheres and Xenografts by Xing Fan and 14 co-authors, including Charles G Eberhart, Stem Cells 2009(Nov 10) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation][Connotea bookmark].


• Targeting breast stem cells with the cancer preventive compounds curcumin and piperine by Madhuri Kakarala and 8 co-authors, including Max S Wicha, Breast Cancer Res Treat 2009(Nov 7) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation].


• Identification of single chain antibodies to breast cancer stem cells using phage display by Deniz Gur and 5 co-authors, including Max S Wicha and David N Krag, Biotechnology Prog 2009(Nov 6) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation].


• Methodologies in assaying prostate cancer stem cells by Hangwen Li and 7 co-authors, including Dean G Tang, Methods Mol Biol 2009; 568: 85-138 [PubMed Citation].


• Pituitary adenoma stem cells by Patrizia Tunici and John S Yu, Methods Mol Biol 2009; 568: 195-201 [PubMed Citation].


• Targeting breast cancer stem cells by Max S Wicha, The Breast 2009(Oct); 18(Suppl 3): S56-8.

IMUC letter to shareholders

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Issues Letter to Shareholders, News Release, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC), November 19, 2009. Excerpt:

• Signed key manufacturing agreement. The Company entered into an agreement with Formatech, Inc. for the manufacture of IMUC's cancer stem cell vaccine product candidate, ICT-121, the Company's lead product candidate that targets cancer stem cells and may have applicability to multiple types of cancer, for an upcoming clinical trial. The Phase I clinical trial of ICT-121, will target glioblastoma (brain cancer) and is expected to begin early next year, pending clearance by the FDA. ICT-121 is an "off-the-shelf" product, and this agreement calls for Formatech to prepare the vials of cancer vaccine for the clinical trial under a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) environment.

For a previous news release about this agreement, see: ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Signs Manufacturing Agreement with Formatech for Clinical Trial of ICT-121 Immunotherapy, June 24, 2009 [Formatech release][IMUC release].

Targeting of AML-leukemic SC with monoclonal antibodies

Targeting of AML-leukemic stem cells with monoclonal antibodies by Erwin M Lee‌ and Richard B Lock, Future Oncol 2009(Nov); 5(9): 1327-30 [PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry][Full text PDF]. Final sentence of the full text of this Editorial:

An AML patient surface immunophenotype is relatively cost-effective to characterize, raising the prospect of individualized therapy based on a selection of available MAbs. Most certainly, we are entering a new and exciting era in the struggle to improve outcome in adult AML.

CSC news roundup 2009-11-10

• The cancer stem cell microenvironment and anti-cancer therapy by Veerander P S Ghotra, Jordi C Puigvert and Erik H J Danen. Review in Int J Radiat Biol 2009(Nov); 85(11): 955-62 [PubMed Citation].


• Cancer Stem Cells : A Reality, A Myth, A Fuzzy Concept or A Misnomer? An Analysis by Carine Maenhaut, Jacques E Dumont, Pierre Roger and Wilma C G van Staveren. Review in Carcinogenesis 2009(Oct 25) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation].


• Colorectal cancer stem cells by Paul Salama and Cameron Platell, Review in ANZ J Surg 2009(Oct); 79(10): 697-702 [PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry].


• Identification and targeting of cancer stem cells by Tobias Schatton, Natasha Y Frank and Markus H Frank. Review in Bioessays 2009(Oct); 31(10): 1038-49 [PubMed Citation].


• Cancer stem cells: Symmetry is key by Mhairi Skinner, Nature Reviews Cancer 2009; 9: 768-9. A commentary about [Cell 2009 Sep 18;138(6):1083-95][FriendFeed entry].


• On cancer stem cells (for the lay public) [All Things Stem Cell 2009(Oct 31)] by Teisha Rowland [FriendFeed entry].


• Immunoselection of breast and ovarian cancer cells with trastuzumab and natural killer cells. [Cancer Res 2009(Oct 15);69(20):8058-66][PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry].


• CD133 Expression Defines a Tumor Initiating Cell Population in Primary Human Ovarian Cancer by Michael D Curley and 10 co-authors, including Bo R Rueda and Rosemary Foster. Stem Cells 2009(Oct 8) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation].

Heterogeneity in the AML stem cell pool

Heterogeneity in the AML stem cell pool by Laura E Hays, Blood 2009(Nov 5); 114(19): 3976-7 [PubMed Citation][FriendFeed entry]. Excerpt:

To examine AML and stem cell diversity, Heuser and colleagues develop a novel murine model that closely mimics aggressive human AML and demonstrate an essential role of Stat5 in leukemic stem cell renewal.

Comment on: Modeling the functional heterogeneity of leukemia stem cells: role of STAT5 in leukemia stem cell self-renewal by Michael Heuser and 14 co-authors, including Gerald Krystal and R Keith Humphries, Blood 2009(Nov 5); 114(19): 3983-93 [Epub 2009(Aug 10)][PubMed Citation].

Featured Article in Cell Stem Cell (Nov 09)

Featured article in the November 6, 2009 issue of Cell Stem Cell (access to the Featured Article is free for all readers):

Malignant glioma remains challenging to treat, despite the use of aggressive surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Although the concept of cancer stem cells reveals a new framework of cancer therapeutic strategies against malignant glioma, it remains unclear how glioma stem cells could be eradicated. In this issue, Miyazono and colleagues demonstrate that autocrine TGF-β signaling helps maintain glioma-initiating cells and find that chemical inhibition blocks the TGF-β-Sox4-Sox2 signaling axis, resulting in glioma cell differentiation in culture and loss of in vivo tumor-forming capacity. Therefore, clinical disruption of this pathway may represent a therapeutic paradigm against gliomas.

Autocrine TGF-β Signaling Maintains Tumorigenicity of Glioma-Initiating Cells through Sry-Related HMG-Box Factors by Hiroaki Ikushima and 5 co-authors, including Kohei Miyazono, Cell Stem Cell 2009(Nov 6); 5(5): 504-14). [Full text].

CSC news roundup: 2009-11-02

• Compositions and Methods for Determining Cancer Stem Cell Self-Renewal Potential, University of California, San Diego Technology Transfer Office, November 2, 2009. [SD2009-192][Tech ID: 19976].


• ImmunoCellular's Promising Brain Cancer Vaccine, Mike Havrilla, Seeking Alpha, October 28, 2009. [Reuters News Release].


• MicroRNA Regulation of Cancer Stem Cells and Therapeutic Implications, Jeffrey T DeSano and Liang Xu, AAPS J 2009(Oct 20). [PubMed Citation].


• Sphere and/or xenograft formation may be useful to survey colitic patients at risk of developing cancer? [Cancer Res 2009 (Oct 15);69(20):8208-15][PubMed Citation][News Release].


• Recent studies regarding stem cell origin of various solid tumors are discussed briefly in this review. [Onkologie 2009 (Oct);32(10):605-9][PubMed Citation].


• Squelching glioblastoma stem cells by targeting REST for proteasomal degradation by Peisu Zhang and 4 co-authors, including Jeremy N Rich and Mark P Mattson, Trends Neurosci 2009(Nov);32(11):559-65 [Epub 2009(Sep 11)][PubMed Citation].


• Methylation dosage effect controls stem cell function in leukemia. [Nat Genet 2009 (Nov);41(11):1207-15][PubMed Citation][News Release].