title: Hitting the bull's eye: targeting HMGA1 in cancer stem cells.
abstract: Emerging evidence suggests that when cancer cells hijack normal stem cell properties, they acquire the ability to invade, metastasize to distant sites and evade therapy. Thus, eliminating cancer cells with stem cell properties, or cancer stem cells, is of prime importance for the successful treatment of cancer, regardless of the tissue of origin. Previous efforts to target cancer stem cells (CSCs), however, have been largely unsuccessful. Recent studies led to the discovery of a novel role for the high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) protein as a master regulator in both CSCs and normal embryonic stem cells. Here, we present exciting new work unveiling HMGA1 as a promising target for therapies directed at eradicating CSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Pathobiology Graduate Program, Hematology Division, Oncology, the Institute for Cellular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Breann L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Linda M S
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Resar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D025741:HMGA1a Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D025741:HMGA1a Protein