Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cancer stem cells found in canine bone cancer cell lines
By Gatti, Monica et al.·Published in The Japanese journal of veterinary research·2016·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine osteosarcoma cell lines contain stem-like cancer cells: biological and pharmacological characterization.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that certain cancer cells from dogs with osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) contain stem-like cells that can resist treatment and lead to tumor regrowth. While current therapies can shrink tumors and extend survival, they often don't eliminate these resistant cells, which can cause the cancer to return. Researchers tested metformin, a diabetes medication, and discovered it significantly reduced the growth of these resistant cancer cells in the lab. This suggests that metformin might be a promising option for treating osteosarcoma in dogs, potentially improving outcomes.
People also search for: dog osteosarcoma treatment · metformin for dog cancer · why does my dog have a tumor
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a small subpopulation of cells responsible for tumor formation and progression, drug resistance, tumor recurrence and metastasization. CSCs have been identified in many human tumors including osteosarcoma (OSA). CSC distinctive properties are the expression of stem cell markers, sustained growth, self-renewal and tumorigenicity. Here we report the isolation of stem-like cells from two canine OSA cultures, characterized by self-renewal, evaluated by sphere formation ability, differential marker expression, and in vitro proliferation when cultured in a medium containing EGF and bFGF. Current therapies for OSA increased survival time, but prognosis remains poor, due to the development of drug resistance and metastases. Chemotherapy shrinks the tumor mass but CSCs remain unaffected, leading to tumor recurrence. Metformin, a drug for type 2 diabetes, has been shown to possess antitumor properties affecting CSC survival in different human and animal cancers. Here we show that metformin has a significant antiproliferative effect on canine OSA stem-like cells, validating this in vitro model for further pre-clinical drug evaluations. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining CSC-enriched cultures from primary canine OSA cells as a promising model for biological and pharmacological studies of canine and human OSAs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27506084/