DEO researchers made seminal discoveries in this field, identifying key features of cancer stem cells, such as those responsible for cell plasticity, an aspect of pivotal importance for cancer research. In the past decades, indeed, the role of cancer stem cells in cancer maintenance has been established, and the traits featuring cancer stem cell subpopulation within the tumor mass have been thoroughly investigated, thus providing a deeper understanding of critical aspects related to tumorigenesis. More recently, the concept of cancer stem cells integrated within the issue of cell plasticity and tissue remodeling, with particular emphasis on cell identity and cell reprogramming.
Numb: a novel tumor suppressor in breast cancer
Reversion of breast cancer stem cell expansion by Inscuteable mediated asymmetric cell divisions
Identification of Myc role in increasing cell plasticity and expression of mitotic signals in p53-/- breast cancer
Identification of novel molecular determinants involved 51 in GBM maintenance and progression: CLIC1, CD133, Rai/ShcC
Oncotarget 2015 and 2016; Stem Cells 2012 and 2013; Neoplasia 2013.
Mechanisms of planar cell division and maintenance of epithelial polarity
