title: Stacking the DEK: from chromatin topology to cancer stem cells.
abstract: Stem cells are essential for development and tissue maintenance and display molecular markers and functions distinct from those of differentiated cell types in a given tissue. Malignant cells that exhibit stem cell-like activities have been detected in many types of cancers and have been implicated in cancer recurrence and drug resistance. Normal stem cells and cancer stem cells have striking commonalities, including shared cell surface markers and signal transduction pathways responsible for regulating quiescence vs. proliferation, self-renewal, pluripotency and differentiation. As the search continues for markers that distinguish between stem cells, progenitor cells and cancer stem cells, growing evidence suggests that a unique chromatin-associated protein called DEK may confer stem cell-like qualities. Here, we briefly describe current knowledge regarding stem and progenitor cells. We then focus on new findings that implicate DEK as a regulator of stem and progenitor cell qualities, potentially through its unusual functions in the regulation of local or global chromatin organization.
authors.affiliation: Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Lisa.Privette@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Privette Vinnedge
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kappes
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nassar
authors.forename: Susanne I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Wells
mesh_terms: D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004260:DNA Repair; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; C084738:DEK protein, human; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53