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SUMMARY:Normal and neoplastic stem cells - Irving Weissman\, Stanford Scho
 ol of Medicine
DTSTART:20120711T151500Z
DTEND:20120711T170000Z
UID:TALK38130@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator
DESCRIPTION:Self renewal is the principal property that distinguishes stem
  cells from their daughter cells\; when stem cells divide as a population 
 they give rise to stem cells by self renewal\, and progenitors by differen
 tiation. The balance between self renewal and differentiation is what gene
 rates and then maintains tissues\, and enables them to respond to injury o
 r other stressors. Studies identifying hematopoietic stem cells and progen
 itors have made hematopoiesis one of the best systems for studying the mol
 ecular changes in cell fate decision making\, and oncogenesis. Further\, i
 t serves as a paradigm for finding preclinical and clinical platforms for 
 tissue and organ replacement and regeneration. Stem cell isolation and tra
 nsplantation is the basis for regenerative medicine. Self renewal is dange
 rous\, and therefore strictly regulated. Poorly regulated self renewal can
  lead to the genesis of cancer\, and within it\, cancer stem cells\, the s
 elf renewing subset of cells within a cancer. At the very least\, all canc
 er stem cells within a cancer are the target of therapeutic elimination. T
 his prediction necessitates a profoundly different approach to cancer rese
 arch\, compelling investigators to prospectively isolate cancer stem cells
  in order to assess both genomic and epigenomic events in the cancer stem 
 cell pool\, as well as assign molecular pathways regulating their behavior
 . In the hematopoietic lineage\, it is possible to find both the leukemia 
 stem cells for such analyses\, and to chart the progression from normal he
 matopoiesis to leukemia. While many events\, genetic and epigenetic could 
 play a role in cancer progression\, this allows investigators to find out 
 how the cancer has done it. This lecture will consider in more depth the r
 ole of programmed cell removal as an obstacle that must be overcome for ca
 ncer clones to succeed\, and how the molecular targets revealed by it prov
 ide one avenue to cancer therapy.
LOCATION:Max Perutz Lecture Theatre\, Medical Research Council (MRC) (MRC 
 Laboratory of Molecular Biol
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