University of Florida (2007, May 26). Stem Cells May Look Malignant, Not Act It. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 13, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/05/070523134908.htm
This article goes back 6 months but I just noticed it in one of my feeds. It is not clear who the population is exactly but some cancer patients have cancers that also contain normal bone marrow stem cells. They are normal in the sense that they are not malignant but abnormal because they no longer look like bone marrow cells. It was stated that several patients had had bone marrow transplants.
Here is what I think is happening: bone marrow cells escape the bone marrow primarily through the opening that is made in the bone in order to deposit the cells. (it was reported that, prior to receiving the cells, the patients had radiation and/or chemo in order to stop the rejection process. This pretreatment is known to cause cancer in some patients.) However, even with preexisting cancer, the bone marrow cells, dislodged from their normal environment in the bone marrow, will home in on cancer cells that are expressing embryonic CRF's (cell recognition factors) because the bone marrow stem cells have themselves started to express embryonic CRF's. In keeping with the CRF theory, bone marrow stem cells have left their normal environment and begin to find an alternative home by expressing embryonic CRF's that are a good match for the CRF's on the cancer cells.
I don't know if I have mentioned the "homing in" process before but basically it is this: cells sometimes have a need to communicate over long distances as when a group of cells need to establish their own blood supply and "call out" to neighboring blood vessels that they need a blood supply.
Bone marrow stem cells are somewhat unique when it comes to their development. They have an uncanny ability to quickly differentiate into other cells types. It is for this reason that they are not grown in cell culture. Their migration into cancerous tissue may represent an innate ability of the bone marrow stem cells to engage in healing processes.
I'll look out for other studies on this particular stem cell type and its relevance to the CRF theory of cancer.
This article goes back 6 months but I just noticed it in one of my feeds. It is not clear who the population is exactly but some cancer patients have cancers that also contain normal bone marrow stem cells. They are normal in the sense that they are not malignant but abnormal because they no longer look like bone marrow cells. It was stated that several patients had had bone marrow transplants.
Here is what I think is happening: bone marrow cells escape the bone marrow primarily through the opening that is made in the bone in order to deposit the cells. (it was reported that, prior to receiving the cells, the patients had radiation and/or chemo in order to stop the rejection process. This pretreatment is known to cause cancer in some patients.) However, even with preexisting cancer, the bone marrow cells, dislodged from their normal environment in the bone marrow, will home in on cancer cells that are expressing embryonic CRF's (cell recognition factors) because the bone marrow stem cells have themselves started to express embryonic CRF's. In keeping with the CRF theory, bone marrow stem cells have left their normal environment and begin to find an alternative home by expressing embryonic CRF's that are a good match for the CRF's on the cancer cells.
I don't know if I have mentioned the "homing in" process before but basically it is this: cells sometimes have a need to communicate over long distances as when a group of cells need to establish their own blood supply and "call out" to neighboring blood vessels that they need a blood supply.
Bone marrow stem cells are somewhat unique when it comes to their development. They have an uncanny ability to quickly differentiate into other cells types. It is for this reason that they are not grown in cell culture. Their migration into cancerous tissue may represent an innate ability of the bone marrow stem cells to engage in healing processes.
I'll look out for other studies on this particular stem cell type and its relevance to the CRF theory of cancer.
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