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CD133 as a biomarker for putative cancer stem cells in solid tumours: limitations, problems and challenges
Author(s) -
GrosseGehling Philipp,
Fargeas Christine A,
Dittfeld Claudia,
Garbe Yvette,
Alison Malcolm R,
Corbeil Denis,
KunzSchughart Leoni A
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.4086
Subject(s) - biomarker , cancer stem cell , cancer research , stem cell , solid tumor , computational biology , cancer , biology , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
The cancer stem cell ( CSC ) hypothesis, despite the limitations of the currently available models and assays, has ushered in a new era of excitement in cancer research. The development of novel strategies for anti‐tumour therapy relies on the use of biomarkers to identify, enrich, and/or isolate the cell population(s) of interest. In this context, various cell characteristics and antigen expression profiles are discussed as surrogate markers. The cell surface expression of the human prominin‐1 ( CD133 ) antigen, in particular of the AC133 epitope, is among those that have been most frequently studied in solid cancers, although no mechanism has yet been proposed to link CD133 expression with the CSC phenotype. Some inconsistencies between published data can be ascribed to different analytical tools as well as methodological limitations and pitfalls, highlighted in the present review. Therefore, a comprehensive overview on the current state of knowledge in this growing and exciting field with an emphasis on the most recent studies is presented. We highlight the link between the tumour microenvironment, tumour cell plasticity, and CD133 expression, and evaluate the utility of CD133 expression as a prognostic marker. Copyright © 2012 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.