Research Progress on the Origin and Mechanism of Liver Cancer Stem Cells

Juan Xu, Qing-Wei Cong and Ying Zhu

Department of Infectious, Liver Disease Center of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, China

^*Correspondance to: Ying Zhu 

 PDF  Full Text Review Article | Open Access

Abstract:

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world and it is highly fatal. Liver Cancer Stem Cells (LCSCs) are a kind of cell with resembling characteristics to normal stem cells in HCC. The self-renewal, differentiation, tumorigenic potential and chemical resistance of LCSCs may be responsible for the high recurrence rate and refractory of HCC. In
recent years, an accumulation of studies has shown that LCSCs originate from Hepatic Progenitor Cells (HPCs), hepatocytes, liver cancer cells and extrahepatic stem cells, and find that these cells transform into LCSCs through signaling pathways, gene mutation and other mechanisms. This paper reviews the original cells of LCSCs and their transformation mechanisms discovered in the last decade. In addition, in the process of HPCs and hepatocytes transforming into LCSCs, there is a cross-connecting network between the signaling pathways, which will provide some valuable clues for the targeted therapy of LCSCs.

Keywords:

Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver cancer stem cells; Origin; Mechanism

Cite the Article:

Xu J, Cong Q-W, Zhu Y. Research Progress on the Origin and Mechanism of Liver Cancer Stem Cells. Clin Oncol. 2022;7:1936..