New technology pulls out 'silent killer' in tumor stem cells

February 18, reporters learned from Nan kai University that researchers from Nan kai University, Southern Medical University, Tianjin Medical University and Yale University in the United States published a study in the latest issue of advanced science, an authoritative international academic journal. Using the same single-cell transcription group sequencing combined analysis of telomere length technology, they found different states and molecular characteristics of colorectal tumor stem cells. These "silent killers" will not only evade the current treatment of tumors to prevent cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. Sleep also produces drug resistance and can mutate and reshape tumor endotrate cells that have been transformed into a proliferating state, leading to rapid tumor growth and recurrence. This discovery has changed the traditional cognition of tumor stem cells and provided new ideas for tumor treatment, especially to inhibit tumor recurrence.with the deepening of tumor research, the scientific community has recognized that tumor stem cells present in a variety of tumors are the cause of tumor metastasis and recurrence. However, it is still not clear what the real characteristics of tumor stem cells are, their proportion in tumors, how to cause disease, why resistance is produced, and what their resistance mechanism is. Breaking down the limitations of the previous thinking of studying tumors as a mixed whole, and understanding in-place tumor stem cells more clearly, deeply and accurately, has become the key to solving the problem.
colorectal cancer is the third most common malignant tumor disease, its mortality rate is also the third highest in the world, and the trend of younger incidence, research shows that tumor metastasis and recurrence are the main causes of death in most end-stage colorectal cancer patients. The current first-line treatment program, mainly for tumor cells in the proliferation state, although can significantly improve the effectiveness of early treatment, but patients often appear drug-resistant reactions leading to recurrence and metastasis. Further studies have shown that tumor stem cells are a potential culprit in the recurrence of colorectal cancer patients after treatment.
researchers used integrated single-cell technology to conduct an in-depth analysis of patients' primary colorectal cancer cells. It was found that the proportion of tumor stem cells with strong dryness was extremely rare. Surprisingly, these tumor stem cells are usually in a resting state, with low telomerase activity and the ability to maintain relatively short telomere lengths due to their non-proliferation. The timing results show that these "silent" tumor stem cells can be reshaped into tumor endocules with high proliferation activity, long telomeres, telomerase and other telomeres to maintain the activation of genes associated with the gene.telomeres are hat-like structures that exist at the end of the chromosomes of the uerynomys and maintain genomic stability, and the telomere length of most somatic cells shortens as cells divide and eventually ages due to the absence of telomerase. However, more than 90% of tumor cells are known to rely on telomerase to maintain telomeres to achieve permanent bioaturation. Therefore, inhibiting telomerase activity becomes a possible pathway for treating tumors.
" is generally believed that tumor stem cell telomere length, telomerase activity is high. But our work found that, in fact, tumor stem cells have different states. Professor Liu Lin, one of the co-authors of the paper, Nan kai University School of Life Sciences, Nan kai University People's Hospital Institute of Translational Medicine, and National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Biology, said that the same single-cell transcription group sequencing and telomere length analysis technology developed by his team played a key role in this discovery.
"We also found that tumor endocellum cells share common surface molecular markers with resting tumor stem cells, so that groups previously thought to be tumor starting cells or tumor stem cells may be tumor endocystes." Subsequent higher-volume single-cell analysis of tumor tissue and cancerous tissue as a whole confirmed the findings, Liu said.
these results show that tumor recurrence and metastasis are closely related to resting tumor stem cells. Although traditional tumor therapy can kill tumor cells in a proliferating state, static tumor stem cells may develop drug resistance. Similarly, telomerase inhibitors can only work on telomerase-positive tumor cells in proliferation, but not on tumor stem cells with short telomeres and low telomerase activity, which are in a resting state.
findings will provide a useful reference for optimizing tumor treatment strategies, jointly targeting tumor stem cells, and reducing tumor resistance.