Hypoxia- and MicroRNA-Induced Metabolic Reprogramming of Tumor-Initiating Cells

in Cells (2019), 8(6),

Colorectal cancer (CRC), the second most common cause of cancer mortality in theWestern world, is a highly heterogeneous disease that is driven by a rare subpopulation of tumorigenic cells, known as ... [more ▼]

Colorectal cancer (CRC), the second most common cause of cancer mortality in theWestern world, is a highly heterogeneous disease that is driven by a rare subpopulation of tumorigenic cells, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells (TICs). Over the past few years, a plethora of di erent approaches, aimed at identifying and eradicating these self-renewing TICs, have been described. A focus on the metabolic and bioenergetic di erences between TICs and less aggressive di erentiated cancer cells has thereby emerged as a promising strategy to specifically target the tumorigenic cell compartment. Extrinsic factors, such as nutrient availability or tumor hypoxia, are known to influence the metabolic state of TICs. In this review, we aim to summarize the current knowledge on environmental stress factors and how they a ect the metabolism of TICs, with a special focus on microRNA (miRNA)- and hypoxia-induced e ects on colon TICs. [less ▲]