Cancer stem cells (CSCs, also called cancer stem-like cells, CSLCs) can function as "seed cells" for tumor recurrence and metastasis. Here, we report that, in the presence of CD133+ ovarian CSLCs, CD133- non-CSLCs can undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like process and display enhanced metastatic capacity in vitro and in vivo. Highly elevated expression of chemokine (C-C motif) ...

Recurrent ovarian cancer is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. A sub-population of ovarian cancer cells, the epithelial ovarian cancer stem cells (EOC stem cells) have stemness properties, constitutive NFκB activity, and represent the chemoresistant population. Currently, there is no effective treatment that targets these cells. Aurora-A kinase (Aurora-A) is associated with tumor initiatio...

Emerging results indicate that cancer stem-like cells contribute to chemoresistance and poor clinical outcomes in many cancers, including ovarian cancer. As epigenetic regulators play a major role in the control of normal stem cell differentiation, epigenetics may offer a useful arena to develop strategies to target cancer stem-like cells. Epigenetic aberrations, especially DNA methylation, sil...

BACKGROUND Endometriosis is a gynaecological disorder that affects 6-10 % of female population. It is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, most often in the pelvic peritoneum or ovaries. Recent studies have indicated that mesenchymal endometrial stem cells might get involved in endometriosis progression. Although germ line stem cells have been proved to exist ...

BACKGROUND We have earlier reported that follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) modulates ovarian stem cells which include pluripotent, very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) and their immediate descendants 'progenitors' termed ovarian germ stem cells (OGSCs), lodged in adult mammalian ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). FSH may exert pleiotropic actions through its alternatively spliced recept...

BACKGROUND Wide metastasis is one of characteristics of ovarian cancer. Cancer stem cells, as a source in cancer invasion and metastasis, possess powerful potential of differentiation. Scaffolding IQ domain GTPase-activating protein 1 (IQGAP1) plays a key role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, but IQGAP1's role in cancer stem cells including ovarian cancer was unclear. METHODS S...

Women with late-stage ovarian cancer usually develop chemotherapeutic-resistant recurrence. It has been theorized that a rare cancer stem cell, which is responsible for the growth and maintenance of the tumor, is also resistant to conventional chemotherapeutics. We have isolated from multiple ovarian cancer cell lines an ovarian cancer stem cell-enriched population marked by CD44, CD24, and Epc...

Ovarian cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer-related death among all gynecological cancers. Increasing evidence suggests that human ovarian cancer stem-like cells could be enriched under serum-free culture conditions. In the present study, SKOV3 ovarian epithelial cancer cells were cultured for sphere cells. Ursolic acid (UA) with triterpenoid compounds exist widely in food, medicinal he...