Activated Thyroid Hormone Promotes Differentiation and Chemotherapeutic Sensitization of Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells by Regulating Wnt and BMP4 Signaling

Abstract Thyroid hormone is a pleiotropic factor that controls many cellular processes in multiple cell types such as cancer stem cells (CSC). Thyroid hormone concentrations in the blood are stable, but the action of the deiodinases (D2–D3) provides cell-specific regulation of thyroid hormone activity. Deregulation of deiodinase function and thyroid hormone status has been implicated in tumorigenesis. Therefore, we investigated the role of thyroid hormone metabolism and signaling in colorectal CSCs (CR-CSC), where deiodinases control cell division and chemosensitivity. We found that increased intracellular thyroid hormone concentration through D3 depletion induced cell differentiation and s…

Non-adherent progenitors from Adipose-derived Stem Cells (napASCs): a new prospective for tissue engineering?

By promoting cell differentiation, miR-100 sensitizes basal-like breast cancer stem cells to hormonal therapy

// Annalisa Petrelli 1,* , Rosachiara Carollo 2,* , Marilisa Cargnelutti 1 , Flora Iovino 2 , Maurizio Callari 3 , Daniela Cimino 4 , Matilde Todaro 2 , Laura Rosa Mangiapane 2 , Alessandro Giammona 2 , Adriana Cordova 2 , Filippo Montemurro 1 , Daniela Taverna 4 , Maria Grazia Daidone 3 , Giorgio Stassi 2,* and Silvia Giordano 1,* 1 University of Torino School of Medicine, Candiolo Cancer Institute-FPO, IRCCS, Str. Provinciale, Candiolo, Torino, Italy 2 Department of Surgical and Oncological Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Pathophysiology Laboratory, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 3 Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy 4 Molecular Biotechnology Center (MBC),…

Hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with cognitive impairment

Cognitive impairment is common in elderly people and represents clinical feature of neurodegenerative diseases. Not all of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) finally develop dementia and it is interesting to investigate the role of possible markers for early diagnosis. Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated to several pathologies including cognitive impairment; aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation between cognitive performance assessment and homocysteine plasma levels. Total 74 patients and 75 healthy controls were enrolled and MCI were defined by a MMSE score lower than 26 after adjustment for years of schooling. Homocysteine plasma levels were determined. Homocysteine l…

Breast cancer stem cells rely on fermentative glycolysis and are sensitive to 2-deoxyglucose treatment

A number of studies suggest that cancer stem cells are essential for tumour growth, and failure to target these cells can result in tumour relapse. As this population of cells has been shown to be resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, it is essential to understand their biology and identify new therapeutic approaches. Targeting cancer metabolism is a potential alternative strategy to counteract tumour growth and recurrence. Here we applied a proteomic and targeted metabolomic analysis in order to point out the main metabolic differences between breast cancer cells grown as spheres and thus enriched in cancer stem cells were compared with the same cells grown in adherent differentiating c…