Cancer Stem Cells

Investigator

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are characterized by self-renewal and niche factor-independent proliferation and differentiation, and have been found almost in all types of benign or malignant tumors. Importantly, CSCs are able to incorporate all somatic mutations, which render their plasticity in cellular surface makers, reversible phenotypes and metastatic colonization.

One of the known CSC features is responsible for earlier metastasis even before forming a tumor, which causes a majority of cancer mortality. MHMC CSC program is focused on studying the genetic and epigenetic regulation of various oncogenes or tumor suppressors controlling CSC plasticity, mesenchymal niching forming and metastasis. Using novel human, mouse and induce pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids and CRSPR/Cas9-gene editable tumoroids (see MHMC Organoid core), the goal of MHMC CSC program is to provide potential targets to improve the precision and sensitivity of current chemo-, radiation- and cell-therapy for cancer treatment.

MHMC CSC program mainly interacts and collaborated with MHMC metastasis program (PI: Dr. Bingcheng Wang) in developing CSC-derived metastatic organoids, tumor microbiome program (PI: Dr. Saori Furuta) in testing gut bacterial metabolites, and epigenetic program (PI: Dr. Shujun Liu) in studying mRNA methylation protein and m6A regulation of tumor cytokine niche.