Title:Expression and Function of PPARs in Cancer Stem Cells
Volume: 11
Issue: 3
Author(s): Yiming Zhang, Xu Zhang, Jing Wang, Yun Shen, Xiaoshan Tang, Fang Yu and Raorao Wang
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cancer, cancer stem cells, EGF/bFGF signaling pathway, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, peroxisomeproliferator-
activated receptors, Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway.
Abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells with characteristics of stem cells, especially the
ability to arise to all types of cell in a particular cancer tissue. With the capacity to generate multiple
types of cancer cells, CSCs are proposed as primary impetus for tumor initiation and metastases and
are suggested as potential therapeutic targets for anti-cancer treatment. Peroxisome-proliferatoractivated
receptors (PPARs) are a subset of multifunctional transcription factors which play a pivotal
role in cancer development and tumorigenesis. PPARs are also reported to be involved in the modulation
of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in CSC initiation and in the regulation of
CSC functions. However, the exact mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, we review the latest evidence on the regulatory
effects and mechanisms of PPARs in CSC formation and function, and evaluate the prospects of PPARs as a target for
cancer treatment.