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- State switching (a.k.a. phenotypic switching) is a fundamental physiological process in which a cell/organism undergoes spontaneous, and potentially reversible, transitions between different phenotypes. Thus, the ability to switch states/phenotypes (phenotypic plasticity) is a key feature of development and normal function of cells within most multicellular organisms that enables the cell to respond to various intrinsic and extrinsic cues and stimuli in a concerted fashion enabling them to ‘make’ appropriate cellular decisions. Although state switching is essential for normal functioning, the repertoire of phenotypes in a normal cell is albeit limited. In contrast to normal cells, a striking characteristic of cancer cells is the remarkable degree of phenotypic plasticity they exhibit. For example, cancer cells undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) that plays important roles in their survival, proliferation, and development of resistance to therapeutic treatments, or switch to a phenotype that mimics stem cell-like features – the so-called Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) or Tumour-initiating Cells. Unlike in the case of normal cells, state switching in cancer cells is widely believed to arise due to somatic mutations. However, there is growing concern that such a deterministic view of a phenomenon that is reversible is not entirely consistent with multiple lines of evidence which indicate that stochasticity may also play an important role in driving phenotypic plasticity. (en)
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- State switching (a.k.a. phenotypic switching) is a fundamental physiological process in which a cell/organism undergoes spontaneous, and potentially reversible, transitions between different phenotypes. Thus, the ability to switch states/phenotypes (phenotypic plasticity) is a key feature of development and normal function of cells within most multicellular organisms that enables the cell to respond to various intrinsic and extrinsic cues and stimuli in a concerted fashion enabling them to ‘make’ appropriate cellular decisions. Although state switching is essential for normal functioning, the repertoire of phenotypes in a normal cell is albeit limited. (en)
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