[Journal of Hematology & Oncology] The authors summarize recent advances in our understanding of CSC plasticity, with a particular focus on the bidirectional interplay between CSCs and the tumor immune microenvironment.

[Cell] Using preclinical models of autoimmune type 1 diabetes and chronic infection, researchers discovered that a small subset of TCF1hi T cells express the transcription factor LEF1. LEF1+ TCF1hi T cells define a true self-renewing T cell pool.

[Science Advances] Scientists demonstrated that a plastic cell state (PSC) is present already in polyps from patients with familial adenomatous polyposis and in mouse intestinal adenomas, in which PCS is associated with PROX1+ tumor stem cells.

[Cell Death & Disease] Investigators demonstrated that Enolase 2 (ENO2) sustains CSC properties and metastatic competence through a phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent metabolic axis.

[Weill Cornell Medicine] Weill Cornell Medicine has received a $2.5 million, three-year grant from the Department of Defense to develop therapies with fewer side effects for triple-negative breast cancer.

[Stem Cell Reports] Researchers investigated the therapeutic potential of targeting mitotic kinesin KIF20A in glioblastom stem/progenitor cells. KIF20A is a crucial component of cytokinetic machinery and cooperates with a network of cell fate regulators to balance proliferative and differentiative divisions in neural stem/progenitor cells.

[Leukemia] Investigators showed that Rbm5 selectively promotes murine leukemogenesis, and maintains leukemia stem cell (LSC) self-renewal in vivo. Rbm5 is highly expressed in LSCs, and its deficiency results in specifically defective LSC function, along with inhibition of self-renewal gene expression and induction of myeloid differentiation.

[Nature Cancer] Using primary acute myeloid leukemia samples, leukemia cell lines and multiple mouse models, scientists demonstrated that PAPOLA-driven hyperactive polyadenylation promotes leukemogenesis and sustains leukemia stem cell maintenance.

[Immunity] The authors identified a population of CD4+ T cells that expressed CD62L and the inhibitory receptor PD-1 and exhibited both features of exhaustion and stemness. These cells acted as precursors of T helper cells and sustained Th cell immunity during chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection.

[Molecular Neurodegeneration] Investigators demonstrated that the Atypical chemokine receptor 3 is a major player of astrocyte-mediated synapse engulfment.

[Molecular Neurodegeneration] Researchers showed that enhancing AQP4-dependent glymphatic function reduces tau pathology and neurodegeneration, identifying glymphatic modulation as a promising therapeutic strategy for tau-related brain disorders.

[Cell Death & Disease] The authors demonstrated a role for the Myristoylated Alanine Rich C-Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) effector domain and PKC activation in the formation and functionality of tunneling nanotubes between PTEN-null glioblastoma brain tumor–initiating cells and normal human astrocytes.