title: Neural stem cells and neuro-oncology: quo vadis?
abstract: Conventionally, gliomas are assumed to arise via transformation of an intraparenchymal glial cell that forms a mass that then expands centrifugally, eventually invading surrounding tissues. We propose an alternative model in which gliomas arise via initiation and promotion of cells within the brain's subependymal layer or subventricular zone, the source of a recently characterized pool of neural cells with the properties of self-renewal and multipotentiality (i.e., stem cells) that persists into adulthood. In this model, the particular histological subtype of glioma would represent the effects of temporal and spatial environmental influences rather than the particular cell of origin and the disease's centrifugal point would be the subependymal layer. The implications of such a model are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology and Surgery (Neurosurgery), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA. Lawrence.Recht@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Recht
authors.forename: Taichang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Savarese
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Litofsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005910:Glioma / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology