title: Stem cells, cancer stem-like cells, and natural products.
abstract: Somatic stem cells can be found in many rapidly regenerating tissues, e.g., the skin, gastrointestinal mucosa, and hematopoietic system, but are also present at low numbers in non-regenerative organs such as the heart and brain. In these organs, somatic stem cells aid in normal tissue homeostasis and repair after injury as well as self-renewal and the generation of specific progenitor cells during differentiation. Cancer stem-like cells are a small subpopulation of self-renewing cells that are able to proliferate upon appropriate stimulation and differentiate into heterogeneous lineages in tumors. Modulation of the behavior of normal tissue stem cells and cancer stem-like cells is an emerging and thriving new field of research. The present review gives an overview of the state-of-the-art findings and highlights perspectives for future scientific developments and clinical application.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. efferth@uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Efferth
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D001688:Biological Products; D014212:Tretinoin