Epigenetic regulation of cancer stem cells: Shedding light on the refractory/relapsed cancers

Libo Xu; Jinghua Zhang; Jicheng Sun; Kunlin Hou; Chenxin Yang; Ying Guo; Xiaorui Liu; Dhan V Kalvakolanu; Ling Zhang; Baofeng Guo

doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115110

Epigenetic regulation of cancer stem cells: Shedding light on the refractory/relapsed cancers

Biochem Pharmacol. 2022 Aug:202:115110. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115110. Epub 2022 May 28.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plastic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, PR China; Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, PR China.
² Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, PR China.
³ Greenebaum NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Department of Plastic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, PR China; Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, PR China. Electronic address: zhangling3@jlu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Plastic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, PR China. Electronic address: gbf@jlu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35640714
DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115110

Abstract

The resistance to drugs, ability to enter quiescence and generate heterogeneous cancer cells, and enhancement of aggressiveness, make cancer stem cells (CSCs) integral part of tumor progression, metastasis and recurrence after treatment. The epigenetic modification machinery is crucial for the viability of CSCs and evolution of aggressive forms of a tumor. These mechanisms can also be targeted by specific drugs, providing a promising approach for blocking CSCs. In this review, we summarize the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in CSCs which contribute to drug resistance, quiescence and tumor heterogeneity. We also discuss the drugs that can potentially target these processes and data from experimental and clinical studies.

Keywords: Autophagy; Cancer stem cells; Drug resistance; Epigenetics; Quiescence; Tumor heterogeneity.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Epigenesis, Genetic*
Humans
Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Neoplasms* / genetics
Neoplasms* / pathology
Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology