Endocytosis, asymmetric cell division, stem cells and cancer: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno

Fürthauer, Maximilian; González-Gaitán, Marcos

doi:10.1016/j.molonc.2009.05.006

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Volume 3, Issue 4 , Pages 339-353, August 2009

Endocytosis, asymmetric cell division, stem cells and cancer: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno

Maximilian Fürthauer
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
- Corresponding authors at: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Marcos González-Gaitán
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
- Corresponding authors at: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.

Received 3 April 2009; accepted 25 May 2009. published online 18 June 2009.

Abstract

Carcinogenesis can be initiated in adult stem cells, suggesting that tumours arise as a consequence of stem-cell dysfunction. In the fruitfly, cancer arises in stem cells that fail to undergo asymmetric cell division. In flies and mammals, a specific regulation of the endocytic trafficking machinery allows stem cells to self-renew and generate the differentiating cells required to form and maintain mature organs. We review recent findings suggesting that an understanding of the relationship between endocytosis, asymmetric cell division, stem cells and cancer will be crucial to unravel the cell biological basis of tumourigenesis.

Keywords: Endocytosis, Asymmetric cell division, Cancer, Stem cells, Delta/Notch signalling