title: Mediators of induced pluripotency and their role in cancer cells - current scientific knowledge and future perspectives.
abstract: The discovery that overexpression of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc reprograms differentiated cells into "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPSCs) has extended our understanding of mechanisms required to maintain stem cell pluripotency and to drive differentiation. Subsequently, additional factors have been discovered that are able to induce a pluripotent state. Recently several groups have succeeded in reprogramming cancer cells to iPSC-like induced pluripotent cancer cells by use of the method established for the generation of iPSCs. This discovery highlighted several striking similarities between pluripotent stem cells and cancer cells, in turn implying that tumorigenesis and reprogramming are partly promoted by overlapping mechanisms. Thus, research on reprogramming might help unravel the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and vice versa. This review gives an overview of the common features of pluripotent stem cells and cancer cells and summarizes the present state of knowledge in the field of cancer cell reprogramming.
authors.affiliation: Skin Cancer Unit, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernhardt
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galach
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Utikal
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics; D011544:Pseudogenes; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C000715467:KLF4 protein, human; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C527782:SOX2 protein, human; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; C080774:erythroid Kruppel-like factor