Opinion Review
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World J Gastrointest Oncol. Feb 15, 2021; 13(2): 92-108
Published online Feb 15, 2021. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i2.92
Could gastrointestinal tumor-initiating cells originate from cell-cell fusion in vivo?
Yang Zhou, Jun-Ting Cheng, Zi-Xian Feng, Ying-Ying Wang, Ying Zhang, Wen-Qi Cai, Zi-Wen Han, Xian-Wang Wang, Ying Xiang, Hui-Yu Yang, Bing-Rong Liu, Xiao-Chun Peng, Shu-Zhong Cui, Hong-Wu Xin
Yang Zhou, Jun-Ting Cheng, Ying-Ying Wang, Ying Zhang, Wen-Qi Cai, Zi-Wen Han, Xian-Wang Wang, Ying Xiang, Xiao-Chun Peng, Hong-Wu Xin, Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
Yang Zhou, Jun-Ting Cheng, Ying-Ying Wang, Ying Zhang, Wen-Qi Cai, Zi-Wen Han, Xian-Wang Wang, Ying Xiang, Hong-Wu Xin, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
Zi-Xian Feng, Department of Oncology and Haematology, Lianjiang People's Hospital, Guangzhou 524400, Guangdong Province, China
Hui-Yu Yang, Bing-Rong Liu, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Xiao-Chun Peng, Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
Shu-Zhong Cui, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Affiliated Cancer Hospital Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510095, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Zhou Y, Cheng JT, and Feng ZX contributed equally to the manuscript; Zhou Y, Peng XC, Cui SZ, and Xin HW conducted the research design; Zhou Y conducted the literature retrieval; Zhang Y participated in manuscript drafting; Peng XC, Cui SZ, and Xin HW conducted the final review of the manuscript; all the authors were involved in the revision and editing of the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81872412, No. 81602303, and No. 31700736; Hubei Province Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 2016CFB180 and No. 2017CFB786; Health and Family Planning Commission of Hubei Province, No. WJ2016Y07 and No. WJ2016Y10; Hubei Province Scientific and Technological Research Project, No. Q20171306; Jingzhou Science and Technology Development Planning Project, No. JZKJ15063; Guangzhou Key Medical Discipline Construction Project (CSZ), National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students, No. 202010489017.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Hong-Wu Xin, PhD, MD, Doctor, Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, No. 1 Nanhuan Road, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China. hongwu_xin@126.com
Received: October 30, 2020
Peer-review started: October 30, 2020
First decision: December 12, 2020
Revised: December 25, 2020
Accepted: January 28, 2021
Article in press: January 28, 2021
Published online: February 15, 2021
Processing time: 93 Days and 23.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Currently, there are many controversial hypotheses concerning the generation of gastrointestinal tumor-initiating cells (giTICs). Here, we mainly review the current advances in the understanding of giTIC origination from the cell-cell fusion of cancer cells and bone marrow-derived cells.