Mechanisms of Chemoresistance in Tumor-Derived Cancer Stem Cells

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Biotechnology Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, AND Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Biotechnology Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

5 Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

6 Department of Biotechnology, School of Basic Sciences, Karaj Payam Noor University, Karaj, Iran

7 Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

8 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been already established in several hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cancers. Chemoresistance has also been demonstrated as a major cause of cancer treatment failure. Although chemotherapy kills most cells in a tumor, it is believed to leave CSCs behind which might be an important mechanism of resistance and thereby cancer treatment failure. The quiescent nature and existence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters in CSCs have been suggested to protect them from chemotherapeutic agents. Gaining a better insight into the mechanisms of CSCs chemoresistance might therefore lead to new therapeutic targets and development of better anticancer strategies. Keywords: Cancer stem cells, Chemotherapy, Drug resistance.