Cancer Cell Reprogramming and Emerging Approaches

Dear Colleagues,

Since the concept of cellular plasticity was established, remarkable progress has been made in reprogramming terminally differentiated somatic cells and cancer cells into induced pluripotent cells and cancer cells with benign phenotypes. Cancer cell reprogramming has emerged as a promising strategy which can induce the transition from malignancy to benignity. A number of intra- and extracellular factors are already described to be implicated in cancer cell reprogramming, such as epigenetic factors, genetic mutations, intracellular pro-malignant, and pro-survival signaling pathways, etc. Additionally, a variety of microenvironmental factors play a critical role in the formation of carcinoma cells of different aggressiveness and sensitivities to currently used therapeutic approaches. Thus, it is proposed that hypoxia and non-malignant cells comprising the tumor such as stroma cells and immune cells could also modify the physiological and molecular properties of carcinoma cells and affect their sensitivities to treatment.

In the past decade, increasing studies have explored various approaches to induce reprogramming from one cell type to another, including lineage-specific transcription factors-, combinatorial small molecules-, microRNAs-, metabolism- and embryonic microenvironment-derived exosome-mediated reprogramming. Much effort has been focused on optimizing reprogramming protocols and deciphering molecular mechanisms to achieve high efficiency, safety, and specificity. The rapid evolution of cancer cell reprogramming has provided substantial insights into biomedical science and translational medicine.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the variety of factors associated with cancer cell reprogramming and the recent approaches to facilitating reprogramming therapy for in vitro/in vivo cancer transition.

Dr. Yan Ma
Dr. Jing Ma
Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee
Guest Editors

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