Breast cancer is the most common type of malignancy among females. Previous studies examining breast cancer tissue have demonstrated the presence of stem cells, and have detected octamer‑binding protein 4 (Oct4) and Nanog transcription factor expression. In the present study, breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) were isolated and enriched from MDA‑MB‑231 breast cancer cell lines, and were defined as...

The stromal vascular cell fraction (SVF) of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT) has increasingly come into focus in stem cell research, since these compartments represent a rich source of multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). ASCs exhibit a self-renewal potential and differentiation capacity. Our aim was to study the different expression of the embryonic stem cell ma...

Despite significant progress in the structural and functional characterization of the human genome, understanding of the mechanisms underlying the genetic basis of human phenotypic uniqueness remains limited. Here, I report that transposable element-derived sequences, most notably LTR7/HERV-H, LTR5_Hs, and L1HS, harbor 99.8% of the candidate human-specific regulatory loci (HSRL) with putative t...

Heterogeneity is an often unappreciated characteristic of stem cell populations yet its importance in fate determination is becoming increasingly evident. Although gene expression noise has received greater attention as a source of non-genetic heterogeneity, the effects of stochastic partitioning of cellular material during mitosis on population variability have not been researched to date. We ...

Intrinsic regulators of the pluripotency of mouse ES (embryonic stem) cells include the homeodomain proteins Oct4 and the recently identified Nanog. When overexpressed, Nanog displays the unique attribute of robustly sustaining ES cell self-renewal in the absence of the otherwise requisite extracellular stimulation by LIF (leukaemia inhibitory factor) and BMP (bone morphogenetic protein). Here,...

Induced pluripotency requires the expression of defined factors and culture conditions that support the self-renewal of embryonic stem (ES) cells. Small molecule inhibition of MAP kinase (MEK) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) with LIF (2i/LIF) provides an optimal culture environment for mouse ES cells and promotes transition to naive pluripotency in partially reprogrammed (pre-iPS) cells. ...

AIM To identify and characterize cancer stem cells (CSC) in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). METHODS Four-micrometer thick formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded GBM samples from six patients underwent 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and immunofluorescent (IF) immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for the embryonic stem cell (ESC) markers NANOG, OCT4, SALL4, SOX2, and pSTAT3. IF IHC staining was performed to...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and malignant cancers. The HCC incidence gets a strong sexual dimorphism as men are the major sufferers in this disaster. Although several studies have uncovered the presentative correlation between the axis of androgen/androgen receptor (AR) and HCC incidence, the mechanism is still largely unknown. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small s...

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from somatic cells have great potential for regenerative medicine. The efficiency in generation of iPS cells has been significantly improved in recent years. However, the generation of high-quality iPS cells remains of high interest. Consistently, we demonstrate that knockout serum replacement (KSR)-based medium accelerates iPS cell induction and improves th...