Leukemic stem cells show the way.

The blood-related cancer leukemia was the first disease where human cancer stem cells (CSCs), or leukemic stem cells (LSCs), were isolated. The hematopoietic system is one of the best tissues for investigating cancer stem cells, since the developmental hierarchy of normal blood formation is well def...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dominique Bonnet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Via Medica 2005-12-01
Series:Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
Online Access:http://czasopisma.viamedica.pl/fhc/article/view/4593
Description
Summary:The blood-related cancer leukemia was the first disease where human cancer stem cells (CSCs), or leukemic stem cells (LSCs), were isolated. The hematopoietic system is one of the best tissues for investigating cancer stem cells, since the developmental hierarchy of normal blood formation is well defined. Leukemia can now be viewed as aberrant hematopoietic processes initiated by rare leukemic stem cells (LSC) that have maintained or reacquired the capacity for indefinite proliferation through accumulated mutations and/or epigenetic changes. Yet, despite their critical importance, much remains to be learned about the developmental origin of LSC and the mechanisms responsible for their emergence in the course of the disease. This report will review our current knowledge on leukemic stem cell development and finally demonstrate how these discoveries provide a paradigm for identification of Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) from solid tumors.
ISSN:0239-8508
1897-5631