Expression levels of Fas/Fas-L mRNA in human brain glioma stem cells.

Despite advancements in research made over the past decades, the prognosis of gliomas remains dismal. Fas/Fas ligand (Fas-L)-related immunotherapy may be regarded as a treatment of choice as it can induce the apoptosis of glioma cells, and has shown promising results in experimental studies. Over the years, brain glioma stem cells (BGSCs) have been accepted as the origin of gliomas and determine their biological features. The theory of BGSCs has facilitated the study of gliomas. In this study, we conducted a series of assays to culture BGSCs from clinical samples and determined the mRNA expression levels of Fas/Fas-L in BGSCs. We also investigated the effects of Fas/Fas-L-related immunotherapy on the apoptosis of glioma cells. BGSCs were grown from samples of 8 patients suffering from gliomas and identified by the assessment of biological characteristics and immunocytochemistry. Total RNA was extracted and reverse-transcribed into cDNA, and the expression levels of Fas/Fas-L mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR, followed by statistical analysis. The results showed that the Fas and Fas-L mRNA expression levels in BGSCs were lower compared to those in primary cultured glioma cells, which were statistically significant (P<0.001). These results indicate that immunotherapy involving Fas/Fas-L may not eradicate the BGSCs, which would result in the relapse of glioma. However, further research is required to investigate the mechanisms involved and define the prospect of Fas-involved immunotherapy against gliomas.