title: Neurotrophin signaling in cancer stem cells.
abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), are thought to be at the origin of tumor development and resistance to therapies. Thus, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of CSC stemness is essential to the design of more effective therapies for cancer patients. Cancer cell stemness and the subsequent expansion of CSCs are regulated by micro-environmental signals including neurotrophins. Over the years, the roles of neurotrophins in tumor development have been well established and regularly reviewed. Especially, nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are reported to stimulate tumor cell proliferation, survival, migration and/or invasion, and favors tumor angiogenesis. More recently, neurotrophins have been reported to regulate CSCs. This review briefly presents neurotrophins and their receptors, summarizes their roles in different cancers, and discusses the emerging evidence of neurotrophins-induced enrichment of CSCs as well as the involved signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: CPAC, Cell Plasticity and Cancer, Univ. Lille, INSERM U908, F-59 000, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.|University of Picardie Jules Verne, 80000, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chopin
authors.affiliation: CPAC, Cell Plasticity and Cancer, Univ. Lille, INSERM U908, F-59 000, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors.forename: Chann
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lagadec
authors.affiliation: CPAC, Cell Plasticity and Cancer, Univ. Lille, INSERM U908, F-59 000, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors.forename: Robert-Alain
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Toillon
authors.affiliation: CPAC, Cell Plasticity and Cancer, Univ. Lille, INSERM U908, F-59 000, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. xuefen.lebourhis@univ-lille1.fr.
authors.forename: Xuefen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Le Bourhis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor
keywords: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; P75NTR; Signaling pathways; TrkA; TrkB; Tumor initiating cells