Definition
Stem cell markers are molecules used for the identification of unspecialized, undifferentiated cells and, in the case of malignancy, presumptive cancer stem cells.
Characteristics
There is increasing evidence that subpopulations of neoplastic cells demonstrate heterogeneity with respect to proliferation, differentiation, and expression of cellular proteins characteristic of stem cells. Subpopulations of cells that express stem cell markers that can also be shown to contribute to tumor progression and resistance to chemotherapy are termed cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are found in very small subpopulations within tumors, in the range of 0.1–1 % of the total cell number. Microscopically, cancer stem cells outwardly appear the same as any other tumor cell. Therefore, in order to identify these rare subpopulations, a number of stem cell markers have been identified and developed as a means of distinguishing stem-like cells from other cells within a cancer population....
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References
Behbod F, Rosen JM (2004) Will cancer stem cells provide new therapeutic targets? Carcinogenesis 26(4):703–711
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See Also
(2012) Daughter cells. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1061. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_1520
(2012) Cancer stem cells. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 626. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_815
(2012) Cluster of differentiation (CD) molecules. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 885. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_1225
(2012) High mobility group. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1694. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2729
(2012) Hoechst-33342 dye. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1718. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2785
(2012) Lymph node metastases. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 2116. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_3444
(2012) Pluripotency. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 2930. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4637
(2012) Pou transcription factors. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 2966. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_4697
(2012) Self-renewal. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 3359. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5226
(2012) Stem cell factor. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 3508. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5487
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Seigel, G.M. (2014). Stem Cell Markers. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_5490-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_5490-2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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