CD133 as a biomarker for putative cancer stem cells in solid tumours: limitations, problems and challenges.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleInvitedpeer-review

Abstract

The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, despite the limitations of the currently available models and assays, has ushered in a new era of excitement in cancer research. The development of novel strategies for anti-tumour therapy relies on the use of biomarkers to identify, enrich, and/or isolate the cell population(s) of interest. In this context, various cell characteristics and antigen expression profiles are discussed as surrogate markers. The cell surface expression of the human prominin-1 (CD133) antigen, in particular of the AC133 epitope, is among those that have been most frequently studied in solid cancers, although no mechanism has yet been proposed to link CD133 expression with the CSC phenotype. Some inconsistencies between published data can be ascribed to different analytical tools as well as methodological limitations and pitfalls, highlighted in the present review. Therefore, a comprehensive overview on the current state of knowledge in this growing and exciting field with an emphasis on the most recent studies is presented. We highlight the link between the tumour microenvironment, tumour cell plasticity, and CD133 expression, and evaluate the utility of CD133 expression as a prognostic marker.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)355-378
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of Pathology
Volume229
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2013
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

researchoutputwizard legacy.publication#49458
researchoutputwizard legacy.publication#55960
Scopus 84872902302
PubMed 22899341
ORCID /0000-0003-1181-3659/work/142252249

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals