Back on Track: New Perspectives on Cancer Cell Reprogramming

The possibility to obtain induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) starting from cancer cells has revealed itself to be a major step forward in the understanding of the mechanisms able to regulate stemness, differentiation and neoplastic transformation. Our work proposes a new differentiation method using rapamycin and an amorphous bone matrix to promote the commitment of neuroblastoma cells towards the osteogenic lineage, switching to a different germ layer, without an intermediate iPSCs step. We followed the process from a morphological point of view with immunofluorescence analysis, cytochemistry and electron microscopy and from a metabolic point of view with enzyme activity tests and protein expression analysis. We believe that the morphological and metabolic changes observed are the foundations for a new type of cancer cell reprogramming.