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Does tryptophan metabolism contribute to the escape of cancer ste | 21132
Journal of Cell Science & Therapy

Journal of Cell Science & Therapy
Open Access

ISSN: 2157-7013

+44 1300 500008

Does tryptophan metabolism contribute to the escape of cancer stem-like cells from immune surveillance?


International Conference & Exhibition on Cell Science & Stem Cell Research

29 Nov - 1 Dec 2011 Philadelphia Airport Marriott, USA

Renata Zobalova

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Cell Sci Ther

Abstract :

Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), a recently discovered paradigm of cancer, promote tumor (re-)initiation and maintenance, and provide their resistance to conventional therapeutics. Whether CSCs evolved as progenitor cells that underwent the malignant switch or whether they were ?sculpted? from more diff erentiated malignant cells by the immune system is not clear. Notwithstanding, CSCs are endowed with properties that help their escape from the immune surveillance. We subjected breast, prostate and mesothelioma CSCs in to expression analysis and compared them to their non-CSC counterparts. Path-way analysis of microarray data revealed that all types of CSCs feature upregulated tryptophan pathway including the IDO gene, coding for indolamine-2,3-dioxygenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the tryptophan pathway causing conversion of Trp to N-formyl-kynurenin. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that the IDO1 but not IDO2 isotype was upregulated, and this was confi rmed on the protein level. Subsequent analyses were conducted to reveal the mechanism of transcriptional regulation of IDO in CSCs and its potential role in the protection of CSCs from the immune system. Since low level of Trp as well as its metabolites prevent activation of eff ector T cells and promote their apoptosis as well as induction of na�ve T cells into T-regulatory cells, we propose that increased Trp metabolism plays an important role in the escape of CSCs from the immune surveillance and their survival in the niche to eventually give rise to second-line tumors. Consequently, targeting Trp metabolism, in particular in combination with inducers of apoptosis, presents a plausible strategy for eliminating CSCs and minimizing tumor recurrence

Biography :

Renata Zobalova is a PhD student at Grif fi th University, Australia. She has an MSc in Biomedical Science from the same university. Renata Zobalova also holds an adjunct research position at the Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic. She has 11 scienti fi c publications in reputed journals with several as fi rst author as well as a chapter in the book Cancer Stem Cells.

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