Mature Cell Discovery Could Cause a Rethink on the Origins of Cancer
Although rapidly dividing aberrant stem cells are a major cause of cancer, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine scientists indicates that mature cells also play a key role in initiating the disease. The finding (“ Metaplastic Cells in the Stomach Arise, Independently of Stem Cells, via Dedifferentiation or Transdifferentiation of Chief Cells ”), published in Gastroenterology, could cause a major change in thinking about the origins of the disease. The team reports that mature cells have the ability to revert back to behaving more like rapidly dividing stem cells. However, when old cells return to a stem cell-like status, they can carry with them all of the mutations that have accumulated to date, predisposing some of those cells to developing into precancerous lesions. “Spasmolytic polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) develops in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis due to infection with Helicobacter pylori; it might be a precursor to intestinal metaplasia and ...
Original Article: Mature Cell Discovery Could Cause a Rethink on the Origins of Cancer
