Gene Markers Representing Stem Cells and Cancer Cells for Quality Control

Abstract

Populations of cells have unique characteristics and gene markers representative of each cell type, and these features are useful for identifying cell characteristics. For example, the gene expression profile of cells differs at each stage of development and differentiation. This review focuses on gene expression in stem and cancer cells to investigate the possibility of identifying cancer stem cells by such markers. Cancer stem cells show similarities to normal stem cells in terms of self-renewal and differentiation into multiple lineages. However, cancer stem cells have an indefinite potential for self-renewal that leads to malignant tumorigenesis. The origins of cancer stem cells are not completely clear but accumulation of gene mutations and cell niches are involved in their development. This article describes the gene expression patterns of stem and cancer cells with the aim of determining gene markers for diverse cell types and culture stages for quality control in cellular therapeutics.