MicroRNA therapy could be a powerful tool to correct the CSC dysregulation?

Medical Hypothesis: No small matter: microRNAs - key regulators of cancer stem cells by Qing Ji, David Karnak, Ping Hao, Rongquan Wang and Liang Xu, Int J Clin Exp Med 2010(Mar 12); 3(1): 84-7 [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][Full text via PMC]. PubMed Abstract:

Emerging evidence demonstrates that both tumor suppressor and oncogenic miRNAs play an essential role in stem cell self-renewal and differentiation by negatively regulating the expression of certain key genes in stem cells. It seems logical that they may also be critical players in cancer stem cells. Though small in size, miRNAs play a key role in the epigenetic regulation of cancer stem cells. Specifically, the imbalance of oncogenic vs. tumor suppressor miRNAs may lead to dysregulation of cancer stem cells, thus causing excessive self-renewal and survival of cancer stem cells, and resistance to chemo/radiotherapy. We postulate that restoring the balance of miRNAs will correct this dysregulation via the direct and simultaneous modulation of downstream stem cell pathways involved in cancer stem cell self-renewal and/or differentiation. The resultant restoration of key regulatory pathways could improve therapeutic response. Restoring tumor suppressor miRNAs and/or inhibiting oncogenic miRNAs may provide a novel molecular therapy for human cancers, potentially via modulating cancer stem cells.

CSC news roundup 2010-04-11

• Cancer Stem Cells: Back to Darwin? (review) [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/csTyxT


• Cancer stem/progenitor cells are highly enriched in CD133+CD44+ population in hepatocellular carcinoma [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/bwUz7C


• The nuclear receptor tailless induces long-term neural stem cell expansion and brain tumor initiation [FriendFeed entry][News release][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cCjVZL


• Hedgehog Signaling and Cancer Stem Cells in Hematopoietic Cell Malignancies (USPTO Application) [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/bSbbTF


• (WO2010037134) Multi-stage stem cell carcinogenesis [FriendFeed entry][WIPO entry] http://bit.ly/cnksOu


• (WO2010037041) Frizzled-binding agents and uses thereof (to target CSC ) [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/aaSJNI


• Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Tumor-Initiating Cells and Its Clinical Implications in Breast Cancer (review) [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cEcBrJ


• Ovarian cancer stem-like side-population cells are tumourigenic and chemoresistant [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cvoGt1


• Emerging strategies for the identification and targeting of cancer stem cells (review) [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/bGOGfd


• Stem cells in human breast cancer (OA review) [FriendFeed entry][ResearchGATE entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/aF9E8U


• Side-population cells in luminal-type breast cancer have tumour-initiating cell properties, and are regulated by HER2 expression and signalling [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/92VkLU


• Hypoxia inducible factors in cancer stem cells (minireview) [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/bGBdxN


• Classic view of cancer challenged by new theory (about the CSC model) [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/decqFe


• New hope in the horizon: cancer stems cells (OA review) [FriendFeed entry][PubGet entry][Full text PDF] http://bit.ly/9HLmV0

CFI practices called “world’s best’’

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is one of the Canadian funding agencies that is a Member of the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC). According to a news release from the CFI, dated March 24, 2010, CFI’s Funding Agreement with the Government of Canada required an overall performance evaluation and value-for-money audit (OPEA). Excerpt from the news release: "KPMG conducted an overall performance evaluation and value-for-money audit of the CFI and an international panel of seven experts in global research and research funding reviewed the findings and produced an independent report".

The news release is entitled: Canada Foundation for Innovation practices called “world’s best’’. The full OPEA, performed by KPMG in 2009, as well as the International Review Panel Report, are available via: OPEA Reports and Summary.

CSC news roundup 2010-03-27

• The Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway Is Required for the Development of Leukemia Stem Cells in AML [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cfLPyK


• Expansion of CD133+ colon cancer cultures retaining stem cell properties to enable cancer stem cell target discovery [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9NLTZ8


• Loss of heterozygosity of the tumor suppressor gene Tg737 in the side population cells of hepatocellular carcinomas is associated with poor prognosis [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/dCQGYL


• Cancer Stem Cells: The Final Frontier for Glioma Virotherapy [FriendFeed entry][CiteULike entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/c8GeYb


• MUC4 down-regulation reverses chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer stem/progenitor cells and their progenies [FriendFeed entry][ResearchGATE entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cvcfX7


• Expression of Pluripotent Stem Cell Reprogramming Factors by Prostate Tumor Initiating Cells [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9jtqLK


• Molecular signaling of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in generating and maintaining cancer stem cells [FriendFeed entry] [ResearchGATE entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9xWial


• Cancer stemness and metastasis: Therapeutic consequences and perspectives [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9s0W14


• Gene-expression profiles, tumor microenvironment, and cancer stem cells in breast cancer: Latest advances towards an integrated approach [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/dgqE0n


• Molecular biology of breast cancer stem cells: Potential clinical applications [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/as3m3j


• In Situ Identification of Putative Cancer Stem Cells by Multiplexing ALDH1, CD44, and Cytokeratin Identifies Breast Cancer Patients with Poor Prognosis [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9rXuWC


• c-Jun Induces Mammary Epithelial Cellular Invasion and Breast Cancer Stem Cell Expansion [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/aInNB2


• The Utility and Limitations of Neurosphere Assay, CD133 Immunophenotyping and Side Population Assay in Glioma Stem Cell Research [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9O4PtL


• Methods of assaying sensitivity of cancer stem cells to therapeutic modalities (USPTO Application) [FriendFeed entry][FreshPatents entry] http://bit.ly/dcWhtJ


• Cancer Stem Cells [Book and Media Reviews] JAMA 2010(Mar 17);303(11):1098 [FriendFeed entry][Book contents] http://bit.ly/9PY8xP


• Challenges in the development of future treatments for breast cancer stem cells (OA review) [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/9DGutB

CSC news roundup 2010-03-16

• microRNA-34a is tumor suppressive in brain tumors and glioma stem cells [FriendFeed entry][CSC News post][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/a5onzu


• Enrichment for breast cancer cells with stem/progenitor properties by differential adhesion [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/ceskEY


• miR-29a initiates AML by converting myeloid progenitors into self-renewing leukemia SC? [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9sM8Mw


• Oncolytic viral purging of leukemic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells with Myxoma virus [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/c0SRla


• @sciclips MicroRNA as a target for the inhibition of glioblastoma stem cells [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/cvXSwu


• @sciclips The most complete systems biology study of cancer stem cell (CSC) differentiation to date [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cBe4D3


• Presentations on Geron’s Telomerase Inhibitor At AACR Special Conference (Business Wire) [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/cFmyWp


• CD24+ cells from hierarchically organized ovarian cancer are enriched in cancer stem cells [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/9ZmKqT


• Targeting leukemia stem cells (by inducing them to divide) [FriendFeed entry][CiteULike entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/aVquQk


• RT @cancer_news: [Reflection and Reaction] HER2 as a cancer stem-cell target [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://is.gd/9udQM


• Evidence for self-renewing lung CSCs & their implications [FriendFeed entry][Connotea bookmark][ResearchGATE entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cje8cc


• Cancer as a reprogramming-like disease: Implications in tumor development and treatment [Connotea bookmark][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/csHdxT


• RT: @cancer_news Identification of the cell lineage at the origin of basal cell carcinoma [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://is.gd/9sT10


• Alpha-fetoprotein producing cells act as cancer progenitor cells in human cholangiocarcinoma [FriendFeed entry][CiteULike entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/bp6dnS


• Efficacious Immune Therapy in CML Recognizes Antigens That Are Expressed on CML Progenitor Cells [FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/briNv0


• Notch-Blocking Drugs Kill Brain Cancer Stem Cells http://bit.ly/bQqs4f about [PubMed citation] http://bit.ly/cJZ5e3


• Universal cancer vaccine containing cancer stem cells [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/bDn5R8


• Dock-and-lock (DNL) anti-cancer vaccine for multiple myeloma cancer stem cells [FriendFeed entry] http://bit.ly/csGN8N

Conditioned medium induces generation of side population cells

Pluripotency-associated genes in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 cells are reactivated by a unique epigenetic sub-microenvironment by Jun-Xia Cao and 8 co-authors, including Quentin Liu, BMC Cancer 2010(Feb 25); 10: 68 [PubMed citation][Full text via PMC][Full text from journal (via Libre OA)]. Conclusion section of the Abstract:

To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that non-SP single-clone cells can be induced to generate a SP phenotype when they are cultured with conditioned medium of macrophage-like cells, which is associated with the reactivation of pluripotency-associated genes.

MicroRNA-34a is a potential therapeutic agent for glioma SC?

See the open-access article: microRNA-34a is tumor suppressive in brain tumors and glioma stem cells by Fadila Guessous and 7 co-authors, including Roger Abounader, Cell Cycle 2010(Mar 18); 9(6) [Epub ahead of print][FriendFeed entry][PubMed citation]. Last 3 sentences of the Abstract:

The new data show that miR-34a expression inhibits various malignancy endpoints in glioma stem cells. Importantly, they also show for the first time that miR-34a expression induces glioma stem cell differentiation. Altogether, the data suggest that miR-34a is a tumor suppressor and a potential potent therapeutic agent that acts by targeting multiple oncogenic pathways in brain tumors and by inducing the differentiation of cancer stem cells.