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AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsMichael F. Clarke, Sean J. Morrison, Max S. Wicha, Muhammad Al-Hajj
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A small percentage of cells within an established solid tumor have the properties of stem cells. These solid tumor stem cells give rise both to more tumor stem cells and to the majority of cells in the tumor that have lost the capacity for extensive proliferation and the ability to give rise to new tumors. The solid tumor heterogeneity reflects the presence of tumor cell progeny arising from a solid tumor stem cell. This discovery is the basis for solid tumor stem cell compositions, methods for distinguishing functionally different populations of tumor cells, methods for using these tumor cell populations for studying the effects of therapeutic agents on tumor growth, and methods for identifying and testing novel anti-cancer therapies directed to solid tumor stem cells.
An isolated population of solid tumor stem cells obtained from a solid tumor of epithelial origin, wherein the population comprises
An enriched population of solid tumor stem cells obtained from a solid tumor of epithelial origin, wherein said population comprises:
A method of enriching for a population of solid tumor stem cells, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.