
Concise Review: Recent Advances on the Significance of Stem Cells in Tissue Regeneration and Cancer Therapies
Author(s) -
Mimeault Murielle,
Batra Surinder K.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.2006-0066
Subject(s) - biology , regeneration (biology) , stem cell , cancer stem cell , cancer , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
In this study, we report on recent advances on the functions of embryonic, fetal, and adult stem cell progenitors for tissue regeneration and cancer therapies. We describe new procedures for derivation and maturation of these stem cells into the tissue‐specific cell progenitors. The localization of the adult stem cells and their niches, as well as their implication in the tissue repair after injuries and during cancer progression, are also described. The emphasis is on the interactions among certain developmental signaling factors, such as hormones, epidermal growth factor, hedgehog, Wnt/β‐catenin, and Notch. These factors and their pathways are involved in the stringent regulation of the self‐renewal and/or differentiation of adult stem cells. Novel strategies for the treatment of both diverse degenerating disorders, by cell replacement, and some metastatic cancer types, by molecular targeting multiple tumorigenic signaling elements in cancer progenitor cells, are also illustrated.