Cancer stem cells- April 02 (1) Flashcards
What are cancer stem cells (CSCs)?
Small cells that have enhanced capacity to seed a tumor.
What do proponents of cancer stem cells believe about these cells?
They contribute to metastasis and disease recurrence.
What is one experimental approach used to demonstrate the existence of cancer stem cells?
Limited dilution and transplantation approach.
What are the tumorigenic markers identified in cancer stem cells?
CD34+/CD38- and CD44+/CD24- cells.
True or False: Only a unique population of cancer cells can seed a tumor.
True.
What does the presence of EdU/BrdU double positive cells indicate?
Increased proliferative activity in the CSC compartment.
What role do ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters play in cancer stem cells?
They confer chemotherapy resistance by effluxing chemotherapy drugs.
Fill in the blank: Cancer stem cells express higher levels of _______ molecules that may be responsible for tumor metastasis.
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)
Which pluripotent transcription factors are expressed by some cancer stem cells?
- Oct4
- Sox2
- Nanog
What are the core principles supporting the existence of cancer stem cells?
- Enhanced capacity to seed tumors
- Higher levels of drug efflux proteins
- Ability to undergo Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)
- Expression of pluripotent stem cell markers
What are potential markers for cancer stem cells?
- CD34
- CD44
- CD24
- CD133
What is a major challenge in targeting cancer stem cells therapeutically?
Lack of cancer stem cell specificity in targeting pathways.
True or False: Therapies aimed at targeting cancer stem cells may also affect normal stem cells.
True.
What is the CSC hypothesis regarding tumor heterogeneity?
It claims the heterogeneity seen in tumors is due to a stem cell hierarchy.
What is a potential drawback of targeting the WNT signaling pathway?
It also targets healthy stem cells.
What are some reported cancers associated with CD44 expression?
- Breast
- Colon
- Gastric
- Liver
- Prostate
What concept is suggested to explain the susceptibility of cancer cells to mutations?
Cell cycle deregulation.
What is the significance of the study by Driessens et al. regarding cancer stem cells?
It demonstrated that the tumor bulk comes from the CSC compartment.
Fill in the blank: A small population of cancer cells express the pluripotent stem cell markers ______, ______, and ______.
Oct4, Sox2, Nanog
What is the role of Hoechst in identifying cancer stem cells?
It is expelled by cancer stem cell-like cells due to high ABC transporter activity.
