Cancer Stem-Like Cells in Glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma is currently described as the worst brain tumor because of its aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Chemotherapy and irradiation are not curative, and the average survival for patients with glioblastoma is around 15 months. The cellular heterogeneity and infiltrative capability of glioblastoma make complete surgical resection almost impossible. Moreover, the presence of cancer stem-like cells in this tumor leads to therapeutic resistance and tumor recurrence after surgery. Numerous studies have explored the physiology of these cancer stem cells, and attempts have been made to develop devices aimed at isolating this rare population of cells. This chapter describes the complexity of cancer stem cells in glioblastoma. Their role in autophagy, gene regulation by epigenetic modifications, and the challenges in isolating these cells are addressed. This knowledge may pave the way for a better understanding of cancer stem cells in glioblastoma, and the potential development of new therapeutic strategies for this deadly disease.

UHF-Dielectrophoresis Crossover Frequency as a New Marker for Discrimination of Glioblastoma Undifferentiated Cells

“…1). For such electrode geometry, the DEP theory [7], [15], [16] shows that considering a cell as a homogeneous spherical dielectric particle, the induced DEP force can be then computed using equation (1). where r is the particle radius, ω is the angular frequency of the 112 applied electric field, E r m s is the root mean square value of this 113 electric field, is the gradient operator and Re[K(ω)] the real 114 part of Claussius-Mossotti factor K(ω) given by (2) in which ε p * 115 and ε m * refer to the complex permittivity of the particle and the 116 suspension medium, respectively.…”

“…Despite recent advances in surgery, imaging, radiation therapies and chemotherapy, the median survival is less than 15 months [2]. This dark prognosis of GBM is primarily due to the recurrence of tumor, which is resistant to pre-cited conventional treatments [1].…”

Cellular Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide: Methods and Applications in Cancer

“…By taking the advantage of hypoxia-induced MSC migration, 76 and higher expansion and engraftment capacities of placenta-derived MSCs (P-MSCs) than bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs), our research group provided the¯rst demonstration, 72 that hypoxiapreconditioned P-MSCs possess excellent BBB crossing and tumor-homing ability for glioma stemlike cells (GSCs), a subpopulation of glioma cells critical for tumor metastasis, recurrence and resistance to therapy. 77,78 In our intracranial glioma xenograft model, the GSC tumor tra±cking behavior of hypoxia-preconditioned P-MSCs that were labeled with PEG-SPIO nanoparticles could be noninvasively tracked through T2-weighted MRI during I.V. delivery (Fig.…”

MicroRNA Signature in Human Normal and Tumoral Neural Stem Cells

“…GSCs are a dynamic population, maintained in discrete niches, with the highest concentration being at the infiltrating tumor edge in vivo [13]. Since these cells are responsible for the long-term maintenance of tumor growth, their close involvement in metastasis has been predicted [24,25].…”