{"title":"Adipose-Derived Stem Cells at the Crossroads of Obesity and Cancer.","authors":"Ahmad Reza Panahi Meymandi, Abbas Ghaderi","doi":"10.1007/s12015-025-10918-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Obesity is a major concern for public health and is associated with a higher risk of various types of cancer. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of this relationship is essential for effective cancer prevention and treatment. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a specialized subtype of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) extracted from adipose tissue. These cells have the ability to undergo lineage-specific differentiation into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Although ADSCs have significant therapeutic potential, existing studies have indicated that they may facilitate cancer initiation, progression, and recurrence through multiple pathways, including their capacity to facilitate tumor cell proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, formation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), immune evasion, and resistance to therapy. Obese individuals have a higher amount of adipose tissue containing an abundance of ADSCs compared to normal individuals, highlighting the possible role of ADSCs in the link between obesity and cancer. In this review, we have explored the effects of ADSCs on cancer initiation, promotion, and progression and put forward a hypothetical model to explain the elevated risk of cancer among obese patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":21955,"journal":{"name":"Stem Cell Reviews and Reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Stem Cell Reviews and Reports","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-025-10918-4","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CELL & TISSUE ENGINEERING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Obesity is a major concern for public health and is associated with a higher risk of various types of cancer. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of this relationship is essential for effective cancer prevention and treatment. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a specialized subtype of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) extracted from adipose tissue. These cells have the ability to undergo lineage-specific differentiation into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Although ADSCs have significant therapeutic potential, existing studies have indicated that they may facilitate cancer initiation, progression, and recurrence through multiple pathways, including their capacity to facilitate tumor cell proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, formation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), immune evasion, and resistance to therapy. Obese individuals have a higher amount of adipose tissue containing an abundance of ADSCs compared to normal individuals, highlighting the possible role of ADSCs in the link between obesity and cancer. In this review, we have explored the effects of ADSCs on cancer initiation, promotion, and progression and put forward a hypothetical model to explain the elevated risk of cancer among obese patients.
期刊介绍:
The purpose of Stem Cell Reviews and Reports is to cover contemporary and emerging areas in stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The journal will consider for publication:
i) solicited or unsolicited reviews of topical areas of stem cell biology that highlight, critique and synthesize recent important findings in the field.
ii) full length and short reports presenting original experimental work.
iii) translational stem cell studies describing results of clinical trials using stem cells as therapeutics.
iv) papers focused on diseases of stem cells.
v) hypothesis and commentary articles as opinion-based pieces in which authors can propose a new theory, interpretation of a controversial area in stem cell biology, or a stem cell biology question or paradigm. These articles contain more speculation than reviews, but they should be based on solid rationale.
vi) protocols as peer-reviewed procedures that provide step-by-step descriptions, outlined in sufficient detail, so that both experts and novices can apply them to their own research.
vii) letters to the editor and correspondence.
In order to facilitate this exchange of scientific information and exciting novel ideas, the journal has created five thematic sections, focusing on:
i) the role of adult stem cells in tissue regeneration;
ii) progress in research on induced pluripotent stem cells, embryonic stem cells and mechanism governing embryogenesis and tissue development;
iii) the role of microenvironment and extracellular microvesicles in directing the fate of stem cells;
iv) mechanisms of stem cell trafficking, stem cell mobilization and homing with special emphasis on hematopoiesis;
v) the role of stem cells in aging processes and cancerogenesis.