Charalambous Christiana, Chen Thomas C, Hofman Florence M
Department of Molecular Microbiology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA.
Neurosurg Focus. 2006 Apr 15;20(4):E22. doi: 10.3171/foc.2006.20.4.e22.
Glioblastomas multiforme (GBMs) are highly vascular brain tumors characterized by abnormal vessel structures in vivo. This finding supports the theory that glioma-associated endothelial cells (ECs) have intrinsically different properties from ECs in normal human brain. Therefore, identification of the functional and phenotypic characteristics of tumor-associated ECs is essential for designing a rational antiangiogenic therapy. The GBM-associated ECs have a large, flat, and veil-like appearance, in contrast to normal ones, which are small and plump. Although the tumor ECs have the typical markers, they proliferate more slowly than these cell types in normal brain. The GBM-associated ECs are resistant to cytotoxic drugs, and they undergo less apoptosis than control cells. Also, GBM-associated ECs migrate faster than controls and constitutively produce high levels of growth factors such as endothelin-1, interleukin-8, and vascular endothelial growth factor. An understanding of these unique characteristics of glioma-associated ECs is important for the development of novel antiangiogenic agents that specifically target tumor-associated ECs in gliomas.
多形性胶质母细胞瘤（GBM）是高度血管化的脑肿瘤，其特征在于体内血管结构异常。这一发现支持了胶质瘤相关内皮细胞（EC）在本质上与正常人类大脑中的EC具有不同特性的理论。因此，鉴定肿瘤相关EC的功能和表型特征对于设计合理的抗血管生成疗法至关重要。与正常的小而饱满的EC相比，GBM相关的EC具有大的、扁平的、面纱样外观。尽管肿瘤EC具有典型标志物，但它们的增殖比正常大脑中的这些细胞类型更慢。GBM相关的EC对细胞毒性药物具有抗性，并且它们经历的凋亡比对照细胞少。此外，GBM相关的EC比对照迁移得更快，并组成性地产生高水平的生长因子，如内皮素-1、白细胞介素-8和血管内皮生长因子。了解胶质瘤相关EC的这些独特特征对于开发特异性靶向胶质瘤中肿瘤相关EC的新型抗血管生成药物很重要。
