Salinomycin kills cancer stem cells by sequestering iron in lysosomes

PUMA Kills Stem Cells to Stall Cancer?

Apoptosis evasion is a hallmark of human cancer. PUMA is a BH3-only Bcl-2 family protein that mediates both p53-dependent and independent apoptosis. However, its role in tumor suppression had not been well established. Our recent work provides direct evidence that PUMA plays an important role in suppressing intestinal tumorigenesis in two mouse models including (i) the azoxymethane (AOM)/dextra...

Metformin kills and radiosensitizes cancer cells and preferentially kills cancer stem cells

UNLABELLED The anti-cancer effects of metformin, the most widely used drug for type 2 diabetes, alone or in combination with ionizing radiation were studied with MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and FSaII mouse fibrosarcoma cells. Clinically achievable concentrations of metformin caused significant clonogenic death in cancer cells. Importantly, metformin was preferentially cytotoxic to cancer st...

The effect of salinomycin on ovarian cancer stem-like cells

OBJECTIVE The identification of cancer stem-like cells is a recent development in ovarian cancer. Compared to other cancer cells, cancer stem-like cells present more chemo-resistance and more aggressive characteristics. They play an important role in the recurrence and drug resistance of cancer. Therefore, the target therapy of cancer stem-like cell may become a promising and effective approach...

Salinomycin as a Drug for Targeting Human Cancer Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subpopulation of tumor cells that possess self-renewal and tumor initiation capacity and the ability to give rise to the heterogenous lineages of malignant cells that comprise a tumor. CSCs possess multiple intrinsic mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, novel tumor-targeted drugs, and radiation therapy, allowing them to survive standard cancer...

Lysosomes in cancer cells.