Tumorigenic WAP-T Mouse Mammary Carcinoma Cells: A Model for a Self-Reproducing Homeostatic Cancer Cell System

摘要

BackgroundIn analogy to normal stem cell differentiation, the current cancer stem cell (CSC) model presumes a hierarchical organization and an irreversible differentiation in tumor tissue. Accordingly, CSCs should comprise only a small subset of the tumor cells, which feeds tumor growth. However, some recent findings raised doubts on the general applicability of the CSC model and asked for its refinement.