Adam Michael Rosen Neuro-Oncology Laboratories, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
Cells. 2024 May 29;13(11):938. doi: 10.3390/cells13110938.
Glioblastoma (GBM) poses a significant challenge in clinical oncology due to its aggressive nature, heterogeneity, and resistance to therapies. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a critical role in GBM, particularly in treatment resistance and tumor relapse, emphasizing the need to comprehend the mechanisms regulating these cells. Also, their multifaceted contributions to the tumor microenvironment (TME) underline their significance, driven by their unique properties. This study aimed to characterize glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), specifically slow-cycling cells (SCCs), in an immunocompetent murine GBM model to explore their similarities with their human counterparts. Using the KR158 mouse model, we confirmed that SCCs isolated from this model exhibited key traits and functional properties akin to human SCCs. KR158 murine SCCs, expanded in the gliomasphere assay, demonstrated sphere forming ability, self-renewing capacity, positive tumorigenicity, enhanced stemness and resistance to chemotherapy. Together, our findings validate the KR158 murine model as a framework to investigate GSCs and SCCs in GBM pathology, and explore specifically the SCC-immune system communications, understand their role in disease progression, and evaluate the effect of therapeutic strategies targeting these specific connections.
胶质母细胞瘤(GBM)因其侵袭性、异质性和对治疗的耐药性,在临床肿瘤学中构成了重大挑战。癌症干细胞(CSC)在 GBM 中起着关键作用,特别是在治疗耐药性和肿瘤复发方面,这强调了理解调节这些细胞的机制的必要性。此外,它们对肿瘤微环境(TME)的多方面贡献也突显了其重要性,这是由它们独特的特性驱动的。本研究旨在表征免疫活性啮齿动物 GBM 模型中的胶质母细胞瘤干细胞(GSCs),特别是慢循环细胞(SCCs),以探索它们与人类对应物的相似性。使用 KR158 小鼠模型,我们证实从该模型中分离出的 SCCs 表现出与人类 SCC 相似的关键特征和功能特性。在神经球测定中扩增的 KR158 鼠 SCC 表现出形成球体的能力、自我更新能力、阳性致瘤性、增强的干性和对化疗的耐药性。总之,我们的发现验证了 KR158 鼠模型是研究 GBM 病理学中 GSCs 和 SCC 的框架,并特别探索 SCC-免疫系统通信,了解它们在疾病进展中的作用,并评估针对这些特定连接的治疗策略的效果。