Epigenetic regulation of normal and cancer stem cells.
In many tissues, a cellular hierarchy exists in which a small population of stem cells is responsible for the production of the mature cells of the organ. The stem cells maintain themselves through a process known as self-renewal. Similarly, tumors contain a minority population of cancer stem cells that maintain the tumor. Some factors that regulate this process of self-renewal are conserved from fruit fly to humans. Disruption of the regulation of self-renewal results in cancer. Thus understanding the mechanisms that regulate stem cell generation has implications for normal development and disease.
Clarke
Michael F
MF
University of Michigan Medical School, CCGC Room 4310, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. mclarke@umich.edu
D000818:Animals; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*