Cancer stem cells use 'normal' genes in abnormal ways

CDK1 is a "normal" protein its presence drives cells through the cycle of replication. And MHC Class I molecules are "normal" as well they present bits of proteins on the surfaces of cells for examination by the immune system. But a University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer Research shows that a population of cancer cells marked by MHC Class I molecules and high CDK1 is anything but normal. In fact, these MHC Class I-high, CDK1 high molecules may be at the heart of conditions including melanoma, pancreatic and colon cancers. These cells may, in fact, be the long-sought cancer stem cells that often resist treatments like chemotherapy to reseed these cancers once treatment ends.