title: Leukemia stem cells.
abstract: Cancer is a multifaceted disease in which cell proliferation is no longer under normal growth control. Accumulating data have suggested the existence of cancer stem cells, a minor population of tumor cells that possess the stem cell property of self-renewal and that are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of cancer. The knowledge of cancer stem cell biology is most advanced in research on the hematopoietic cancer, leukemia. With the identification of leukemia stem cells (LSCs) capable of repopulating nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice, this body of research has led to conclusive proof for cancer stem cells. This review focuses on the biological characterization of LSCs for each type of leukemia, which has provided key insights into leukemogenic pathology and LSC-targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Research Center for Stem Cell Engineering, Technology, Institute of Hematology, Hospital of Blood Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union of Medical College, Tianjin.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Zhong Chao
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology