Colorectal cancer may be the third-leading reason behind tumor related mortality

Colorectal cancer may be the third-leading reason behind tumor related mortality in america. cancer metastasis and recurrence. A more full knowledge of the biology of colorectal CSCs will result in the introduction of better chemotherapeutic and natural agents for the treating colorectal cancer. assays several additional proteins markers for the epithelial stem cell/progenitor cells have been identified. These include: BMI1 polycomb ring finger oncogene (Bmi-1) [12] Musashi-1 (Msi-1) [13] DCAMKL-1 [14] CD133 [15] and Activated Leukocyte Adhesion Molecule (ALCAM/CD166) which marks a broader stem cell region as a niche marker [16]. While the epithelial function for many of Pidotimod these proteins has yet to be elucidated continued understanding of the populations that express them is certain to shed important insight into epithelial homeostasis regeneration and disease. Currently it is unclear if a hierarchical lineage relationship exists among the various progenitor cells of the intestine. It has been proposed that the Wnt-responsive gene Lgr5 exclusively marks actively dividing intestinal stem cells [9]. It is possible that a more dormant or quiescent population of stem cells is at the apex of the stem cell hierarchy and gives rise to the rapidly cycling Lgr5 progenitors in a similar fashion as the well-described hematopoietic and neuronal stem cell hierarchies. This type of relationship may help explain how the intestine regenerates after radiation exposure and chemotherapy which target actively cycling cells (likely Lgr5-expressing populations) [17]. Solid tumors Rabbit polyclonal to NOTCH4. which develop resistance to these therapies may use a similar mechanism in which a subset of cells capable of repopulating a tumor is in a dormant (protected) state during dosing of cytotoxic therapeutics. A progenitor cell hierarchy may also exist among the TA population where lineage restriction is initiated resulting in generation of specific cell types [18]. Interestingly dysregulation of these progenitor pools may be reflected in cancers where single cell types dominate the tumor such as mucinous adenocarcinoma. A better understanding of differences between normal intestinal progenitors and their progeny will lead to greater insight into Pidotimod the various initiating cells within a cancer and has great potential to lead to novel therapeutic approaches for eradicating disease. 3 Cancer and Metastatic Disease Colorectal cancer (CRC) will account for approximately 150 0 new cases and 56 0 deaths in the United States this year making it the third most commonly diagnosed cancer as well as the third-leading cause of cancer related mortality [19]. The incidence of CRC has declined over the last Pidotimod two decades with the advent and implementation of routine screening colonoscopy which allows for early detection and removal of adenomatous polyps before they progress to invasive cancer. Early detection and treatment is the key to better survival. Patients diagnosed with early stage CRC have a five year survival rate of greater than 90% compared to 11% for those diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease. Furthermore patients with metastatic CRC have a median survival Pidotimod of only two years despite multiple available treatment modalities including surgical resection chemoradiation monoclonal antibodies to tumor growth factors and liver-directed therapies for metastatic disease. Unfortunately only a small subset of metastases are sensitive to these therapies and fewer still are cured highlighting our lack of knowledge regarding the biological underpinnings of this most deadly phase of CRC. A major challenge in treating Pidotimod metastatic CRC is the inability to predict tumor behavior and response to therapy [46] and that CSCs are defined functionally by their ability to initiate tumorigenesis and as such can only be truly identified focused on validating CD133 as a colorectal CSC marker. In these experiments CD133+ and CD133? cells were isolated Pidotimod from both primary and metastatic human CRCs and injected under the renal capsule of NOD/SCID mice. CD133+ cells gave rise to tumors while explanted CD133- cells did not support tumor growth. Further the regenerated CD133+ tumor cells could be serially transplanted and still retain the parental tumor morphology [54]. This observation has been recapitulated by other groups [55]. Furthermore the CD133+ tumor.