美国密歇根大学综合癌症中心的科学家已经发现攻击乳腺癌干细胞的潜在新方法，肿瘤中的少量细胞促进其生长和扩散。研究者发现一组来自骨髓的细胞调控乳腺癌干细胞，这被称为间充质干细胞。这些细胞来自于骨髓，随之进入肿瘤，并为肿瘤干细胞的生长及复制创造一个"空间"。

美国密歇根大学综合癌症中心主任Max S. Wicha教授说，我们可通过阻断来自空间的信号攻击乳腺肿瘤干细胞。

Wicha及其同事在2003年首次发现乳腺肿瘤干细胞，肿瘤干细胞被认为是抗化疗及抗放射治疗，研究人员认为这是癌症在治疗后复发的原因。

关于肿瘤干细胞"空间"-一种微环境类型，与肿瘤的生长和转移密切相关，了解甚少。研究者观察骨髓中出现的间充质干细胞，发现小鼠中的乳腺肿瘤发出信号，将来自骨髓的间充质干细胞吸引至肿瘤，细胞可在此相互作用，并刺激乳腺肿瘤干细胞的生长。

研究人员随后发现来自细胞因子网络（影响细胞如何沟通的一种蛋白质）的两个信号-主要负责干细胞调控。这些相同的细胞因子在炎症和阻断它们的药物方面发挥作用，并且这些药物对于治疗炎症性疾病如风湿关节炎方面已获批准。通过阻断这些细胞因子信号，研究人员希望他们能够成功地针对肿瘤干细胞群提供更有效的治疗乳腺肿瘤的方法。

英文原文链接：http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110118101354.htm
中文译文来源：http://www.chinastemcell.org/page/zixun_xwdtlist.aspx?infoid=1020

英文摘要：

Cancer Research, 2011; 71 (2): 614 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-0538

Breast cancer stem cells are regulated by mesenchymal stem cells through cytokine networks.
Liu S, Ginestier C, Ou SJ, Clouthier SG, Patel SH, Monville F, Korkaya H, Heath A, Dutcher J, Kleer CG, Jung Y, Dontu G, Taichman R, Wicha MS.

Comprehensive Cancer Center and School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. sulingl@med.umich.edu

We have used in vitro and mouse xenograft models to examine the interaction between breast cancer stem cells (CSC) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). We show that both of these cell populations are organized in a cellular hierarchy in which primitive aldehyde dehydrogenase expressing mesenchymal cells regulate breast CSCs through cytokine loops involving IL6 and CXCL7. In NOD/SCID mice, labeled MSCs introduced into the tibia traffic to sites of growing breast tumor xenografts where they accelerated tumor growth by increasing the breast CSC population. With immunochemistry, we identified MSC-CSC niches in these tumor xenografts as well as in frozen sections from primary human breast cancers. Bone marrow-derived MSCs may accelerate human breast tumor growth by generating cytokine networks that regulate the CSC population.