Fight, flight, and freeze!

Riya Keshri; Julie Mathieu; Hannele Ruohola-Baker

doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2023.08.007

Fight, flight, and freeze!

Cell Metab. 2023 Sep 5;35(9):1493-1495. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.08.007.

Authors

Riya Keshri¹, Julie Mathieu², Hannele Ruohola-Baker³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
² Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: hannele@uw.edu.

PMID: 37673033
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.08.007

Abstract

Just like time and tide, embryonic development waits for no man but progresses forcefully to its completion, with just one exception. Diapause is an enigmatic, reversible, dormant halt that protects the developing embryo. Cancer cells have evolved to hijack many useful stem cell capabilities, and diapause is no exception. Recent work has revealed a diapause-like cancer cell state, prompting the quest for its key molecular regulators useful for cancer therapies. The present paper by Sun et al.¹ addresses this knowledge gap by revealing a key player in regulating the diapause-like cancer cell stage, the condensin protein SMC4.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Comment

MeSH terms

Embryo, Mammalian*
Embryonic Development*
Female
Humans
Pregnancy
Stem Cells

Grants and funding

R01 DE033016/DE/NIDCR NIH HHS/United States