TITLE:
Differentiation of human osteosarcoma 3AB-OS stem-like cells in derivatives of the three primary germ layers as a useful in vitro model to develop several purposes
AUTHORS:
Riccardo Di Fiore, Rosa Drago-Ferrante, Antonella D’Anneo, Anna De Blasio, Andrea Santulli, Concetta Messina, Daniela Carlisi, Giovanni Tesoriere, Renza Vento
KEYWORDS:
Human Osteosarcoma; Cancer Stem Cells; In vitro Differentiation; Pluripotentiality
JOURNAL NAME:
Stem Cell Discovery,
Vol.3 No.3,
July
17,
2013
ABSTRACT: A number
of solid tumors contain a distinct subpopulation of cells, termed cancer stem
cells (CSCs) which represent the source for tissue renewal and hold malignant
potential and which would be responsible for therapy resistance. Today, the
winning goal in cancer research would be to find drugs to kill both cancer cells
and cancer stem cells, while sparing normal cells. Osteosarcoma is an
aggressive pediatric tumor of growing bones that, despite surgery and chemotherapy,
is prone to relapse. We have recently selected from human osteosarcoma MG63
cells a cancer stem-like cell line (3AB-OS), which has unlimited proliferative
potential, high levels of stemness-related markers, and in vivo tumorforming capacity in xenograft assays. Here, we have
shown that 3AB-OS cells can differentiate in vitro into endoderm-, mesoderm-and ectoderm-derived lineages. Cell
differentiation is morphological, molecular and functional. We propose that
this model system of 3AB-OS differentiation in
vitro might have a number of useful purposes, among which the study of
molecular mechanisms of osteosarcoma origin, and the analysis of factors
involved in specification of the various cell lineages. We still do not know
either what are the shared and distinguishing characters between CSCs and
normal stem cells, or what is the reason why the cancer stem cells, like the
normal stem cells, have the ability to differentiate toward the derivatives of
the primary germ layers. It is possible that each of the differentiation
capability may be exploited by CSCs to supply their needs of growing and surviving
in hostile microenvironment.