Regulating stem cell-related genes induces the plastic differentiation of cancer stem cells to treat cancer [in vivo]. Regulating stem cell-related genes induces the plastic differentiation of cancer stem cells to treat cancer [in vivo]

Relapse of cancer is associated with multi-directional differentiation, and unrestricted proliferative replication potential of cancer stem cells. Herein, we propose the plastic differentiation strategy for irreversible differentiation of cancer stem cells. Whole gene expression analysis revealed that salinomycin induced the cancer stem cells into normal cells, dormant cells, and mature cancer cells. Besides, the results indicated that the gatekeeper was related to the inhibition of PKC α signaling pathway. The differentiated normal or dormant cells were incorporated into normal tissue, while the rest were killed by chemotherapy. Our findings would offer the evidence for plastic differentiation of cancer stem cells, and propose an invert strategy for cancer therapy. Overall design: 4 samples

癌症复发与肿瘤干细胞（cancer stem cells）的多向分化潜能及不受限制的增殖复制能力密切相关。本研究提出了可实现肿瘤干细胞不可逆分化的可塑性分化策略。全基因表达谱分析结果显示，盐霉素（salinomycin）可将肿瘤干细胞诱导为正常细胞、休眠细胞与成熟癌细胞。此外，研究结果表明，该关键调控因子（gatekeeper）与蛋白激酶Cα（PKC α）信号通路的抑制作用相关。经分化获得的正常细胞或休眠细胞可整合进入正常组织，其余细胞则可通过化疗手段被清除。本研究结果可为肿瘤干细胞的可塑性分化提供实验依据，并为癌症治疗提出一种逆转治疗策略。整体实验设计：共4个样本。