Ubiquitination in cancer stem cell: roles and targeted cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of stem-like cells inside tumors, which possess abilities of unlimited self-renewal, differentiation and proliferation. Extensive studies have suggested that CSCs are one of the major drivers of tumor initiation, metastasis, relapse and therapeutic resistance. Several regulatory networks including transcriptional programs and various signaling pathways tightly control the stemness, proliferation and differentiation of CSCs. Emerging evidence has indicated that post-translational modifications, especially ubiquitination, play a critical role in maintenance of CSC properties. In this review, we summarize current understandings on E3 ubiquitin ligase-mediated regulation of transcription factors and key signaling pathways involved in the regulation of CSCs, and discuss the strategy to target CSCs and E3 ubiquitin ligases for combating cancers.