title: Antioxidant Mechanisms and ROS-Related MicroRNAs in Cancer Stem Cells.
abstract: Increasing evidence indicates that most of the tumors are sustained by a distinct population of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for growth, metastasis, invasion, and recurrence. CSCs are typically characterized by self-renewal, the key biological process allowing continuous tumor proliferation, as well as by differentiation potential, which leads to the formation of the bulk of the tumor mass. CSCs have several advantages over the differentiated cancer cell populations, including the resistance to radio- and chemotherapy, and their gene-expression programs have been shown to correlate with poor clinical outcome, further supporting the relevance of stemness properties in cancer. The observation that CSCs possess enhanced mechanisms of protection from reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced stress and a different metabolism from the differentiated part of the tumor has paved the way to develop drugs targeting CSC specific signaling. In this review, we describe the role of ROS and of ROS-related microRNAs in the establishment and maintenance of self-renewal and differentiation capacities of CSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dando
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cordani
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dalla Pozza
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biondani
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9224-9230
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donadelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Biochemistry Section, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palmieri
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species