Study provides documentation that tumor 'stem-like cells' exist in ben...(essed proteins that could enable their o...),Health
essed proteins that could enable their offspring to differentiate into several types of cells.
Studies also showed that both hormone-producing and non-producing tumor stem cells can be differentiated into hormone-producing cells, with the specific hormones produced being determined by the characteristics of the original pituitary tumor.
Consistent with the researchers' earlier findings in cancer stem-like cells of malignant brain tumors, the tumor stem cells but not the "daughter" cells appeared to be resistant to chemotherapy. This suggests that even if most of a tumor's cells can be killed, stem-like cells may survive and regenerate the tumor.
When tumor stem-like cells were implanted into laboratory mice, they generated new tumors that had the same genetic composition and characteristics as the original tumors. Cells from the new tumors, later transplanted into other mice, maintained the same tumor-specific properties.
"Although previous studies have offered evidence of the existence of stem-like cells in pituitary adenomas, in this study we scrutinized these cells for composition and function, demonstrating that stem-like cells exist in benign tumors," said neurosurgeon John S. Yu, M.D., director of Surgical Neuro-oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He is senior author of the journal article.
Although pituitary adenomas are typically noncancerous, they can cause significant injury or illness, either by compressing important structures, such as the optic nerve, or by creating hormone imbalances that can have wide-ranging and serious consequences. Identifying the mechanisms that enable these and other tumors to form may provide unique targets for new, more effective therapies.
"From our work with cancer stem-like cells in malignant brain cancers, it appears that stem cells from different cancers or possibly even within the same tumor may use different signaling pathways and have different implicatio
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| Contact: Sandy Van sandy@prpacific.com 808-526-1708 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Source:Eurekalert |
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