title: Control of stem cells and cancer stem cells by Hedgehog signaling: pharmacologic clues from pathway dissection.
abstract: Hedgehog is a key morphogen regulating embryonic development and tissue repair. Remarkably, when misregulated, it leads to tumorigenesis. Hedgehog signaling is triggered by binding of ligands with transmembrane receptor Ptch and is subsequently mediated by transcriptional effectors belonging to the Gli family, whose functions is tuned by a number of molecular interactions and post-synthetic modifications. The complex of these regulatory circuitries provides a tight control of developmental processes, mainly involving the modulation of genes determining the fate of stem cells. Similarly, Hedgehog regulates cancer stem cells fostering tumorigenesis. To this regard, these processes represent promising targets for novel therapeutic strategies aiming at the control of stemness reactivation and maintenance in cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie Valrose, Centre de Biochimie, Faculté des Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coni
authors.affiliation: Center for Life NanoScience@LaSapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Infante
authors.affiliation: Center for Life NanoScience@LaSapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy; Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University, 00161 Rome, Italy; Neuromed Institute, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy. Electronic address: alberto.gulino@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulino
mesh_terms: D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000071676:Zinc Finger Protein GLI1
chemical_list: D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000071676:Zinc Finger Protein GLI1