ALDH1 & CD133 in invasive cervical carcinoma & their association with the outcome of chemoradiation therapy.

Background & Objectives: Chemoradiation is the standard therapy for locally advanced invasive cervical cancer and response to treatment determines the outcome. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) play a role in response to treatment and hence the aim of this study was to evaluate if their levels in pre-treatment biopsies by immunohistochemistry (IHC) could predict response to treatment and outcome.

Methods: The study comprised 60 patients with FIGO Stage IIB/III invasive cervical carcinoma treated by chemoradiation.

Insulin growth factor-1 pathway in cervical carcinoma cancer stem cells.

Cancer stem cells (CSC) drive tumour progression and are implicated in relapse and resistance to conventional cancer therapies. Identification of differentially expressed genes by gene expression (GEP) profiling may help identify the differentially activated signalling pathways in cancer stem cells as opposed to bulk tumour cells which will provide new insights into cancer stem cell biology and aid in identification of novel therapeutic targets. Our study focused on the inhibition of CSC from cervical cancer cell lines by targeting insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which was identified by differential GEP.

Sonic hedgehog pathway activation regulates cervical cancer stem cell characteristics during epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

Resistance to therapy and metastasis remains one of the leading causes of mortality due to cervical cancer despite advances in detection and treatment. The mechanism of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) provides conceptual explanation to the invasiveness and metastatic spread of cancer but it has not been fully understood in cervical cancer. This study aims to investigate the mechanism by which silencing of E-cadherin gene regulates EMT leading to proliferation, invasion, and chemoresistance of cervical cancer cells through the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway.

Significance of CD133 positive cells in four novel HPV-16 positive cervical cancer-derived cell lines and biopsies of invasive cervical cancer.

Background: Cervical cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality in women in the developing world. Cancer Stem cells (CSC) have been implicated in treatment resistance and metastases development; hence understanding their significance is important.

Methods: Primary culture from tissue biopsies of invasive cervical cancer and serial passaging was performed for establishing cell lines.

Innate Immunity Holding the Flanks until Reinforced by Adaptive Immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection.

T cells play a cardinal role in imparting protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, ample time is required before T-cells are able to evoke efficient effector responses in the lung, where the mycobacterium inflicts disease. This delay in T cells priming, which is termed as lag phase, provides sufficient time for Mtb to replicate and establish itself within the host.