癌癥干細(xì)胞是腫瘤組織內(nèi)一類比較小的細(xì)胞類型,，被認(rèn)為可以刺激腫瘤生長和擴(kuò)散,。研究人員認(rèn)為，傳統(tǒng)的化療和放射治療往往無效的原因就是因?yàn)闆]有殺死癌癥干細(xì)胞,，因此未來治療癌癥的關(guān)鍵是開發(fā)那些能殺死這些細(xì)胞的藥物,。
這一最新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)涉及癌基因RhoC，RhoC已被證明可以促進(jìn)多種癌癥的轉(zhuǎn)移,。在乳腺癌發(fā)展過程中RhoC水平會(huì)增加,，RhoC的高水平表達(dá)與病人的生存較差相關(guān)。
這項(xiàng)新的研究發(fā)表在PLoS ONE雜志上,，闡述了一種新的獲取癌癥干細(xì)胞中的途徑,。針對特定的分子得到癌癥干細(xì)胞為開發(fā)有潛力的癌癥治療方法鋪平了道路。
消除癌癥干細(xì)胞對治療某些癌癥是非常有必要的,，但在這之前,，我們必須能處理癌癥干細(xì)胞侵襲等一系列生物學(xué)行為，密歇根大學(xué)的內(nèi)科和流行病學(xué)教授,、U-M綜合癌癥中心乳房腫瘤科學(xué)主任Sofia D. Merajver醫(yī)學(xué)博士等人發(fā)現(xiàn)RhoC可以當(dāng)做控制處理癌癥干細(xì)胞的靶蛋白,。
研究者用正常乳腺組織中細(xì)胞以及高轉(zhuǎn)移性細(xì)胞株來開展研究，通過抑制或過度表達(dá)RhoC,，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)RhoC的表達(dá)對兩個(gè)細(xì)胞系的轉(zhuǎn)移是必要的,，RhoC的過表達(dá)可引起腫瘤轉(zhuǎn)移。研究人員在小鼠體內(nèi)研究中得到了類似的結(jié)果,。
目前,，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)正在積極來發(fā)一種新型的RhoC小分子藥物抑制劑，并且已在實(shí)驗(yàn)室初步研究結(jié)果中顯示出很大的研究前景,。（生物谷：Bioon.com）
編譯自：Researchers find driver of breast cancer stem cell metastasis
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040979
PMC:
PMID:
RhoC Impacts the Metastatic Potential and Abundance of Breast Cancer Stem Cells
Devin T. Rosenthal1,2¤, Jie Zhang1, Liwei Bao1,et al.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been shown to promote tumorigenesis of many tumor types, including breast, although their relevance to cancer metastasis remains unclear. While subpopulations of CSCs required for metastasis have been identified, to date there are no known molecular regulators of breast CSC (BCSC) metastasis. Here we identify RhoC GTPase as an important regulator of BCSC metastasis, and present evidence suggesting that RhoC also modulates the frequency of BCSCs within a population. Using an orthotopic xenograft model of spontaneous metastasis we discover that RhoC is both necessary and sufficient to promote SUM149 and MCF-10A BCSC metastasis–often independent from primary tumor formation–and can even induce metastasis of non-BCSCs within these cell lines. The relationship between RhoC and BCSCs persists in breast cancer patients, as expression of RhoC and the BCSC marker ALDH1 are highly correlated in clinical specimens. These results suggest new avenues to combating the deadliest cells driving the most lethal stage of breast cancer progression.
