Pluripotency Transcription Factors and Metabolic Reprogramming of Mitochondria in Tumor-Initiating Stem-like Cells.

Significance: Neoplasms contain tumor-initiating stem-like cells (TICs) that drive malignant progression and tumor growth with drug resistance. TICs proliferate through a self-renewal process in which the two daughter cells differ in their proliferative potential, with one retaining the self-renewing phenotype and another displaying the differentiated phenotype. Recent Advances: Cancer traits (hepatocellular carcinoma) are triggered by alcoholism, obesity, and hepatitis B or C virus (HBV and HCV), including genetic changes, angiogenesis, defective tumor immunity, immortalization, metabolic reprogramming, excessive and prolonged inflammation, migration/invasion/metastasis, evasion of cell cycle arrest, anticell death, and compensatory regeneration/proliferation. Critical Issues: This review describes how metabolic reprogramming in mitochondria promotes self-renewal and oncogenicity of TICs. Pluripotency transcription factors (TFs), NANOG, OCT4, MYC, and SOX2, contribute to cancer progression by mitochondrial reprogramming, leading to the genesis of TICs and cancer. For example, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and fatty acid metabolism are identified as major pathways contributing to pluripotency TF-mediated oncogenesis. Future Directions: Identification of novel metabolic pathways provides potential drug targets for neutralizing the activity of highly malignant TICs found in cancer patients. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 1080-1089.