Conflicting metabolic alterations in cancer stem cells and regulation by the stromal niche

February 22 2021

Lab: Takatsugu Ishimoto

Paper information

Yasuda T, Ishimoto T*, Baba H*
(*corresponding authors)

Title
Conflicting metabolic alterations in cancer stem cells and regulation by the stromal niche

Regenerative Therapy. 2021 Jan 29;17:8-12. doi: 10.1016/j.reth.2021.01.005. eCollection 2021 Jun.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reth.2021.01.005

Highlights

• CSCs use conflicting metabolic alterations, glycolysis and mitochondrial OXPHOS, differently depending on their circumstances.
• Metabolic interactions between CSCs and the stromal niche are important for the maintenance of CSC mitochondrial OXPHOS.
• CSCs generally maintain low ROS levels and exhibit redox patterns to survive and retain their stemness.

Abstract

 Recent studies have revealed that cancer stem cells (CSCs) undergo metabolic alterations that differentiate them from non-CSCs. Inhibition of specific metabolic pathways in CSCs has been conducted to eliminate the CSC population in many types of cancer. However, there is conflicting evidence about whether CSCs depend on glycolysis or mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to maintain their stem cell properties. This review summarizes the latest knowledge regarding CSC-specific metabolic alterations and offers recent evidence that the surrounding microenvironments may play an important role in the maintenance of CSC properties.