Cancer stem cells articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Self-renewal of cancer stem cells can contribute to glioma progression. Here, the authors show that Notch1 activation in glioma stem cells induces expression of the lncRNATUG1, which promotes self-renewal through the repression of differentiation genes, and that targeting TUG1 represses glioma growth in vivo.

    • Keisuke Katsushima
    • , Atsushi Natsume
    •  & Yutaka Kondo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Renal tumour-initiating cells (T-ICs) contribute to tumour initiation and progression. Here, the authors show that lncARSR regulates TICs by blocking LATS1-induced YAP phosphorylation facilitating YAP nuclear translocation, which promotes lncARSR transcription, thus forming a feed-forward circuit to promote TIC expansion.

    • Le Qu
    • , Zhenjie Wu
    •  & Linhui Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The polycomb repressor protein Bmi1 has a role in self-renewal and tumorigenesis. Here, the authors use lineage tracing to show that Bmi-expressing cells are a distinct population of cells, primarily found in the luminal compartment, which is castration resistant, can initiate cancer and regenerate prostate.

    • Young A. Yoo
    • , Meejeon Roh
    •  & Sarki A. Abdulkadir

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TRAF2 and NCK-interacting protein kinase (TNIK) is a key regulatory component of the TCF4 and β-catenin transcriptional complex. In this study, the authors identify a TNIK inhibitor that blocks Wnt signalling and Wnt-driven colorectal tumorigenesis in mice.

    • Mari Masuda
    • , Yuko Uno
    •  & Tesshi Yamada

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have key roles in tumor initiation and metastasis. Here, the authors show that the SUMO E1 and global sumoylation levels are high in colorectal CSCs and that depletion of the catalytic subunit of the SUMO E1, SAE2, affects CSCs self-renewal through TRIM21-mediated degradation of the Oct1, a transcription factor for ALDH.

    • Li Du
    • , Yi-Jia Li
    •  & Yuan Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tumour initiating cells (TICs) are anoikis resistant in suspension culture and they are critical for initiating tumorigenesis in vivo. Here, the authors show that these features are promoted by hemidesmosome-like structures enriched in laminin V and collagen XVII 5 upregulated in TICs by phospho-STAT3 whose levels are increased through PP2A inactivation.

    • Chen-Chi Liu
    • , Shih-Pei Lin
    •  & Shih-Chieh Hung

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TLX is a nuclear receptor essential for neural stem cell self-renewal and recently involved in glioblastoma development. In this study, the authors show that inhibition of TLX expression, achieved using a dendrimer nanovector-delivered siRNAs or viral vector-delivered shRNAs, reduces glioblastoma stem cells self renewal and in vivotumour growth through activation of TET3.

    • Qi Cui
    • , Su Yang
    •  & Yanhong Shi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    With no cell lines available, investigating the aetiology of human fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinomas (hFL-HCCs) has proved problematic. Here, Oikawa et al. establish a model of hFL-HCCs as a transplantable tumour line maintained in immune-compromised mice, which proves rich in cancer stem cells.

    • Tsunekazu Oikawa
    • , Eliane Wauthier
    •  & Lola M. Reid

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MicroRNAs have a role in the acquisition of stem cell-like properties of cancer cells. Here the authors show that microRNA-27b mediates generation of a side-population of breast cancer stem cells, in part by regulating the protein ENPP1, which has been previously linked to the development of diabetes.

    • Ryou-u Takahashi
    • , Hiroaki Miyazaki
    •  & Takahiro Ochiya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The aryl hydrocarbon receptor, AhR, can regulate Oct4, which is often expressed in cancer stem cells and promotes pluripotency and tumorigenesis. Here, in cancer stem cells, AhR is shown to be activated by the tryptophan derivative ITE, which causes transcriptional repression of Oct4 and reduced tumorigenesis.

    • Jie Cheng
    • , Wenxin Li
    •  & Ying-Jie Wang

  • Article |

    Some normal and cancer stem cells are resistant to killing by genotoxins, but the mechanism for this resistance is poorly understood. Here the authors show that adult stem cells inDrosophila melanogastergermline and midgut are resistant to genotoxic stimuli and find that this is mediated by signalling via the receptor tyrosine kinase Tie released from apoptotic cells.

    • Yalan Xing
    • , Tin Tin Su
    •  & Hannele Ruohola-Baker

  • Article |

    DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1) plays a key role in stem cell and progenitor cell maintenance in mammalian epithelium tissues. Here the authors uncover a role for DNMT1 in the regulation of stem/progenitor cells in normal and tumorigenic mouse mammary gland.

    • Rajneesh Pathania
    • , Sabarish Ramachandran
    •  & Muthusamy Thangaraju

  • Article |

    Transcriptional regulators Sox2 and YAP maintain expression of stemness genes in normal and cancerous cells. Here the authors show that, in osteosarcomas, Sox2 activates YAP by directly repressing transcription of its upstream negative regulators Nf2 and WWC1, promoting cancer cell stemness.

    • Upal Basu-Roy
    • , N. Sumru Bayin
    •  & Claudio Basilico

  • Article |

    The death receptor CD95/Fas induces apoptosis of many normal cells but prevents necrotic death of cancer cells. Here the authors demonstrate that CD95 activation promotes a cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype, and that CSCs but not differentiated cancer cells are resistant to CD95-mediated apoptosis and depend on CD95 signalling to prevent necrosis.

    • Paolo Ceppi
    • , Abbas Hadji
    •  & Marcus E. Peter

  • Article |

    Many tumours originate from cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small population of cells that display stem cell properties. Here Kanda and colleagues show that the lipid mediator, sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P), enhances expansion of ALDH-positive CSCs via S1P receptor 3 (S1PR3) and subsequent Notch activation, providing a rationale for targeting S1PR3 in cancer.

    • Naoya Hirata
    • , Shigeru Yamada
    •  & Yasunari Kanda

  • Article |

    Glioblastoma cancers contain brain tumour-initiating cells and targeting these specific cells is an attractive opportunity for therapy. In this study, the authors show that FOXG1 and Groucho/TLE transcription factors are important for glioblastoma growth and might be useful therapeutic targets.

    • Federica Verginelli
    • , Alessandro Perin
    •  & Stefano Stifani

  • Article |

    Aggressive types of breast cancer often exhibit constitutive activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. Here, Yamamoto et al. show that, in basal-like breast cancer, NF-κB upregulates the Notch receptor ligand JAG1 in non-cancer stem cells and thereby induces proliferation of breast cancer stem cells.

    • Mizuki Yamamoto
    • , Yuu Taguchi
    •  & Jun-ichiro Inoue

  • Article |

    TGF-β signalling suppresses tumorigenesis in breast cancer cells but its effects on breast cancer initiating cells have not been reported. Using cells in culture, Brunaet al. show that TGF-β increases breast cancer initiating cell numbers in cells that have low levels of the tight junction protein claudin.

    • Alejandra Bruna
    • , Wendy Greenwood
    •  & Carlos Caldas

Browse broader subjects

Browse Cancer stem cells across other nature.com journals