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NEWS |
PTEN Takes Center Stage in Cancer Stem Cell Research, Works As Tumor Suppressor
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Researchers who have been seeking a handle on what makes cancer stem cells different from normal stem cells have gotten a welcome grip on the process. A series of recently published research studies implicate the tumor suppressor PTEN as a key player in maintaining normal stem cell function.
Three published studies all point to PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue) as a major developmental switch that both maintains normal blood cell–forming stem cells and, when mutated or missing, leads to stem cell loss, deregulation, and sometimes cancer. The research may have surprisingly near-term clinical impact because at least one study indicates that the FDA-approved drug rapamycin may be effective in fixing damage to blood cell–forming stem cell populations caused by a loss of PTEN function.
Two of the studies used mouse models in which PTEN can be turned off in bone marrow stem cells. In those studies, both published in the
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