Letters To The Editor
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2011; 17(36): 4149-4152
Published online Sep 28, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i36.4149
CD133 and membrane microdomains: Old facets for future hypotheses
Christine A Fargeas, Jana Karbanová, József Jászai, Denis Corbeil
Christine A Fargeas, Jana Karbanová, József Jászai, Denis Corbeil, Tissue Engineering Laboratories (BIOTEC), Technische Universität Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany
Author contributions: Fargeas CA, Karbanová J, Jászai J and Corbeil D contributed equally to this letter to the editor.
Supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (TRR83 No. 6; SFB655 B3; CO298/5-1)
Correspondence to: Denis Corbeil, PhD, Tissue Engineering Laboratories (BIOTEC), Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-49, D-01307 Dresden, Germany. corbeil@biotec.tu-dresden.de
Telephone: +49-351-46340118 Fax: +49-351-46340244
Received: April 20, 2011
Revised: June 16, 2011
Accepted: June 23, 2011
Published online: September 28, 2011
Abstract

Understanding all facets of membrane microdomains in normal and cancerous cells within the digestive tract is highly important, not only from a clinical point of view, but also in terms of our basic knowledge of cellular transformation. By studying the normal and cancer stem cell-associated molecule CD133 (prominin-1), novel aspects of the organization and dynamics of polarized epithelial cells have been revealed during the last decade. Its association with particular membrane microdomains is highly relevant in these contexts and might also offer new avenues in diagnosis and/or targeting of cancer stem cells.

Keywords: AC133; Cancer; CD133; Membrane microdomains; Membrane vesicles; Prominin-1; Stem cell