HIF2α is involved in the expansion of CXCR4-positive cancer stem-like cells in renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Hypoxia and the subsequent activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF2α) contribute to the progression of a variety of cancers. However, their role in the generation of renal cell carcinoma-derived stem cells has not been fully addressed.

Methods: A sphere formation assay, cell proliferation, RT-PCR, western blot, FACS, immunohistochemistry and tumour xenograft were used to study the role of HIF2α.

Hyperglycemia promotes K-Ras-induced lung tumorigenesis through BASCs amplification.

Oncogenic K-Ras represents the most common molecular change in human lung adenocarcinomas, the major histologic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The presence of K-Ras mutation is associated with a poor prognosis, but no effective treatment strategies are available for K-Ras -mutant NSCLC. Epidemiological studies report higher lung cancer mortality rates in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Semaphorins and their receptors in stem and cancer cells.

There is a growing body of evidence that links cancer with genes and pathways that are required for normal embryonic development, increasing the possibility that cancer cells with stem cell properties, particularly self-renewal and multipotentiality, are primarily involved in tumor formation and progression. One novel pathway that is important in regulating the morphogenesis, proliferation, survival and growth in a variety of adult and embryonic tissues is the semaphoring signaling pathway. Semaphorins are a large family of secreted, transmembrane and GPI-linked proteins with a broad spectrum of functions.

The effects of insulin and insulin-like growth factors on tumor vascularization: new insights of insulin-like growth factor family in cancer.

It is currently believed that the development of a clinically relevant tumor needs new vessel formation provided by both angiogenesis (primary involving endothelial cells) and postnatal vasculogenesis (primary involving bone marrow-derived cells). Clearly, it is important to identify factors that help to enhance the growth and "health" of tumors, as well as their further vascularization. The Insulin and Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGFs) systems play a key role in cellular metabolism, differentiation, proliferation, transformation and apoptosis, during normal and malignant growth.