title: The pathological characteristics of glioma stem cell niches.
abstract: Brain tumor stem cells (BTSC) are predicted to be critical drivers of tumor progression due to their self-renewal capacity and limitless proliferative potential. Recent studies suggest that stem cells are controlled by a particular microenvironment known as a "niche". We therefore analysed human glioma tissues and found that the CD133(+) and nestin(+) niches are perivascularly localized in all glioma tissues. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between the CD133(+) niches and CD133(+) blood vessels, which is similar to the correlation between the nestin(+) niches and nestin(+) blood vessels. We demonstrate that both CD133(+) blood vessels and nestin(+) blood vessels have an important role in maintaining the structure of the glioma stem cell niche. Moreover, the abundance of CD133(+) niches and nestin(+) niches increases significantly as tumor grade increases. These findings provide a new insight into the biology of BTSC and open a new perspective for targeted therapy against the brain tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, 17 Lujiang Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230001, China.
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Ming Wu
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chao Shi
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Niu
mesh_terms: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D064231:Nestin; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D055153:Stem Cell Niche / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D015703:Antigens, CD; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006023:Glycoproteins; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; C577484:NES protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D064231:Nestin; C000606023:PROM1 protein, human; D010455:Peptides