title: The role of stem cells in benign tumors.
abstract: As stem cells contribute to the development and homeostasis of normal adult tissues, malfunction of stem cells in self-renewal and differentiation has been associated with tumorigenesis. A growing number of evidences indicating that tumor initiating cells play a crucial role, not only in malignancies, but also in generation and development of benign tumors. Here we offer an overview of the identification and functional characterization of benign tumor initiating cells in several tissues and organs, which typically show capacities of uncontrolled self-renewal to fuel the tumor growth and abnormal differentiation to give rise to tumor heterogeneity. They may originate from alteration of normal stem cells, which confer the benign tumor initiating cells with different repertoire of "stemness". The plastic functions of benign tumor initiating cells are determined by niche regulation mediated via several signaling and epigenetic cues. Therefore, targeting stem cell function represents an important strategy for understanding the biology and management of benign tumors.
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China. haiyanandrew@163.com.|Nanjing Key Laboratory, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China. haiyanandrew@163.com.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.|Nanjing Key Laboratory, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dongyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guowen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Benign tumor; Differentiation; Self-renewal; Stem cells