title: Spontaneous human adult stem cell transformation.
abstract: Human adult stem cells are being evaluated widely for various therapeutic approaches. Several recent clinical trials have reported their safety, showing them to be highly resistant to transformation. The clear similarities between stem cell and cancer stem cell genetic programs are nonetheless the basis of a recent proposal that some cancer stem cells could derive from human adult stem cells. Here we show that although they can be managed safely during the standard ex vivo expansion period (6-8 weeks), human mesenchymal stem cells can undergo spontaneous transformation following long-term in vitro culture (4-5 months). This is the first report of spontaneous transformation of human adult stem cells, supporting the hypothesis of cancer stem cell origin. Our findings indicate the importance of biosafety studies of mesenchymal stem cell biology to efficiently exploit their full clinical therapeutic potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Oncology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, UAM Campus de Cantoblanco, Darwin, 3 E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Castro
authors.forename: María C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cigudosa
authors.forename: Alison C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernad
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000166:cytology; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000502:physiology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016513:Mice, SCID; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase