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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Mar 26, 2016; 8(3): 62-72
Published online Mar 26, 2016. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v8.i3.62
Role of nuclear receptors in breast cancer stem cells
Alessio Papi, Marina Orlandi
Alessio Papi, Marina Orlandi, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science (BiGea), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Author contributions: Papi A wrote the manuscript and Orlandi M corrected the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Alessio Papi, MD, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science (BiGea), University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy. alessio.papi2@unibo.it
Telephone: +39-5-12094131 Fax: +39-5-12094286
Received: October 28, 2015
Peer-review started: November 3, 2015
First decision: December 4, 2015
Revised: December 17, 2015
Accepted: January 27, 2016
Article in press: January 29, 2016
Published online: March 26, 2016
Processing time: 145 Days and 7.1 Hours
Abstract

The recapitulation of primary tumour heterogenity and the existence of a minor sub-population of cancer cells, capable of initiating tumour growth in xenografts on serial passages, led to the hypothesis that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist. CSCs are present in many tumours, among which is breast cancer. Breast CSCs (BCSCs) are likely to sustain the growth of the primary tumour mass, as well as to be responsible for disease relapse and metastatic spreading. Consequently, BCSCs represent the most significant target for new drugs in breast cancer therapy. Both the hypoxic condition in BCSCs biology and pro-inflammatory cytokine network has gained increasing importance in the recent past. Breast stromal cells are crucial components of the tumours milieu and are a major source of inflammatory mediators. Recently, the anti-inflammatory role of some nuclear receptors ligands has emerged in several diseases, including breast cancer. Therefore, the use of nuclear receptors ligands may be a valid strategy to inhibit BCSCs viability and consequently breast cancer growth and disease relapse.

Keywords: Cancer stem cells; Hypoxia; Inflammation; Nuclear receptors; Retinoids; Peroxisome proliferator-activator receptors

Core tip: This review examines the roles of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) in the eliminate breast cancer disease. BCSCs represent the most significant target for new drugs in breast cancer therapy. The use of nuclear receptors ligands may be a valid strategy to inhibit BCSCs viability and consequently breast cancer growth and disease relapse.