Therapeutic implications of cancer stem cells in prostate cancer
Pinaki P. Banerjee, Prachi Kapse, Shehnaz Siddique, Moumita Kundu, Jasoda Choudhari, Varshasnata Mohanty, Diksha Malhotra, Suresh Gosavi, Rajesh N. Gacche, Gopal C. Kundu
Abstract
Prostate cancer, one of the most frequently occurring cancers in men, is a heterogeneous disease involving multiple cell types within tumors. This tumor heterogeneity at least partly results from genomic instability leading to sub-clonal cellular differentiation. The differentiated cell populations originate from a small subset of cells with tumor-initiating and stem-like properties. These cells, termed prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs), play crucial roles in disease progression, drug resistance, and relapse. This review discusses the origin, hierarchy, and plasticity of PCSCs; methods for isolation and enrichment of PCSCs; and various cellular and metabolic signaling pathways involved in PCSC induction and maintenance, as well as therapeutic targeting.