Project 1: Interrogating Distinct Tumor-Initiating Cells in CRC

项目摘要/摘要：p1。询问不同的肿瘤启动细胞 晚期结直肠癌(CRC)的一个主要治疗障碍是治疗后肿瘤复发。这个 “癌症干细胞假说”认为，具有干细胞特征的罕见癌细胞群体也 被称为肿瘤启动细胞(TICs)，刺激肿瘤生长，抵抗治疗，并在远端重新填充肿瘤。 网站。在正常结肠中，多种干细胞群以储备-活性连续体的形式存在。我们 假设在结直肠癌中存在不同的TIC群体，并且这些不同的TIC群体具有不同的 克隆形成特性和肿瘤再繁殖潜能。用Lrig1和Lgr5标记的符号表示 储备抽动和主动抽搐，我们将使用新的单细胞方法研究 在治疗干预的背景下，这些人群。首先，我们将确定是否存在定义的 方向层次结构中，备用抽动导致主动抽动，而不是相互转换。第二，我们 将确定具有恶性特征的抽搐是否预先存在于原发肿瘤中，或者抽搐是否获得 这些特征是治疗后的结果。第三，我们将确定签名是否派生 TIC Behaviors为结直肠癌患者提供预后和/或预测性信息。我们的 翻译的目标是应用一种系统的方法来根据属性预测肿瘤复发的可能性 TIC人群的长期目标是使用组合途径改变来针对TIC行为。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: P1. Interrogating Distinct Tumor-Initiating Cells A major therapeutic barrier in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) is tumor recurrence after treatment. The “cancer stem cell hypothesis” posits that rare populations of cancer cells with stem cell characteristics, also known as tumor-initiating cells (TICs), fuel tumor growth, resist therapy, and repopulate the tumor at distal sites. In the normal colon, multiple stem cell populations exist in a reserve-to-active continuum. We hypothesize that distinct TIC populations exist in CRC, and these distinct populations of TICs have different clonogenic properties and tumor-repopulating potential. Using TICs marked by Lrig1 and Lgr5 to represent reserve and active TICs, respectively, we will use novel single-cell approaches to investigate the behaviors of these populations in the context of therapeutic intervention. First, we will determine whether there is a defined directional hierarchy where reserve TICs give rise to active TICs versus mutual interconversion. Second, we will determine whether TICs with malignant characteristics pre-exist in the primary tumor or if TICs acquire these characteristics de novo as a result of treatment. Third, we will determine whether a signature derived from TIC behaviors provides prognostic and/or predictive information for individuals with CRC. Our translational goal is to apply a systems approach to predict likelihood of tumor recurrence based on properties of TIC populations with the long-term goal of using combinatorial pathway alterations to target TIC behaviors.