Transcriptional Characterization of Glioma Neural Stem Cells Diva ...

3.3 Glioma Culture Systems Introduction
similar to adult SVZ astrocytes, including expression of GFAPδ, although
more specific markers are needed in order to confirm this. This perhaps
indicates that the histological spectrum of different gliomas is dictated
by the phenotype of the underlying tumour-initiating cells.
To summarise, when the same culture conditions for NS cells were tested on
glioma tumours, NS-like cells were isolated and propagated as GNS cells. Nor-
mal NS cells and GNS cells feature many commonalities, both in their morphol-
ogy and immunoreactivity, to radial glia markers. However, unlike NS cells,
GNS cells require less exogenous growth factor for stable proliferation and reca-
pitulate the pathology of the original gliomas when xenografted into immuno-
compromised mice. This system is highly unusual in that normal and diseased
counterparts are morphologically and immunohistologically indistinguishable
and yet the differentiation behaviour of the cancer stem cells is clearly aber-
rant. The data generated using this system described by Pollard et al [404] is
consistent with tumour stem cells arising following transformation of oligoden-
droglial precursors or adult SVZ astrocytes, although it is considered equally
plausible that short-lived progenitors or differentiated cells can be converted
to a stem cell state through genetic or epigenetic disruptions. In conclusion,
GNS cells provide a versatile and renewable resource to probe the biology of
tumour-initiating cells and screen for agents that selectively and directly target
them. tumour stem cell self-renewal, migration, apoptosis, and differentiation
all represent potential therapeutic opportunities that are accessible in GNS
cell cultures [404].
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