THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF STEM CELLS IN CERVICAL DISEASES

Stem cells are cells capable of self-sustaining asymmetric division, resulting in one daughter cell and one progenitor cell from one stem cell. The features of stem cells are the ability to self-renew and differentiate into various cells, ensure hemostasis of tissues, as well as proliferative reserve. The maintenance and functional properties of stem cells are regulated by signals from the stem cell niche, i.e. from their local microenvironment, which contributes to adequate self-renewal and differentiation. Therefore, niches provide regulation of the number of stem cells in the body and protect the body from their excessive proliferation. Structurally, the stem niche is a combination of all factors that ensure the viability and self-reproduction of stem cells and the differentiation of daughter progenitor cells. An example of a stem cell niche can be the transition zone (TZs) - the junction of different types of epithelial tissue. It is believed that carcinogenesis can be associated with these zones: the transition region of the glandular and squamous epithelium in the conjunctiva, the cervical glands of the stomach, in the esophagus, in the lungs (bronchioalveolar transition zone), in the cervix (endo-ectocervical transition). This article discusses modern approaches to the search for significant markers of the state of stem cell niche and tumor stem cells of cervical cancer, which will be of great importance in clinical practice for the timely detection of oncological processes, even before their phenotypic manifestation.