title: Vitamin D and Cancer Stem Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract.
abstract: Vitamin D has been widely used as a dietary supplement for the prevention and treatment of bone disorders. Epidemiological and preclinical studies demonstrated the anticancer action of vitamin D in a variety of cancers including those in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In these studies the inhibitory action of vitamin D on cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been a focus and is also an important subject to revolutionize the therapeutic potential of vitamin D on cancer treatment. Here, we summarize the involvement of CSC markers and factors and also their signaling pathways in the development of cancers in the esophagus, stomach, colon, pancreas and also liver. It is also evidenced that vitamin D could inhibit these markers and factors and their related signaling pathways to suppress tumor progression. All these information could provide new strategies in repurposing vitamin D as therapeutic agent to inhibit cancers in the GI tract.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Ming-Xing
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Long-Fei
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Zan-Gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chinese Materia Medica, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong. China.
authors.forename: Chi-Hin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: Vitamin D; cancer microenvironment; cancer stem cell markers; cancer stem cells; gastrointestinal cancer