Melanoma Stem Cells, Vasculogenesis and Neoplastic Progression

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Abstract: Human melanoma is a highly aggressive and drug resistant cancer and resistant to systemic therapy once disseminated. Findings of undifferentiated subpopulations with embryonic-like plasticity within this malignancy have pointed to the presence of melanoma stem cells. Recently our laboratory has identified melanoma stem cells characterized by expression of the chemoresistance mediator ABCBS, which are responsible for melanoma progression and can be therapeutically targeted in experimental tumor xenotransplantation models. The molecular and cellular mechanisms by which melanoma stem cells trigger tumorigenesis and promote neoplastic progression are currently unknown. Vasculogenesis and metastasis are phenomena recognized to be critical for tumor growth and neoplastic progression. Despite the significant knowledge about the molecular pathways involved, a specific relationship of cancer stem cells to these processes has not been demonstrated to date. We hypothesize that melanoma stem cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation, which are responsible for tumor growth, may coincide with cancer subpopulations critically involved in tumor vasculogenesis and metastasis and that specific targeting of this cell population and of related molecular pathways could thus provide for novel strategies to eradicate cancers currently resistant to conventional therapy. The specific aims of this proposal are the following: (1) Investigate the relationship between ABCBS+ melanoma stem cells and tumor vasculogenesis and define the molecular mechanisms involved; (2) Define the role of ABCBS+ melanoma stem cells in metastatic neoplastic progression; and (3) Develop novel melanoma stem cell-targeted therapies. Thus, the proposal is highly relevant to efforts directed at developing novel therapeutic strategies to cancer therapy based on selectively targeting vital molecular pathways in cancer stem cells.