Molecular analysis of ex-vivo CD133+ GBM cells revealed a common invasive and angiogenic profile but different proliferative signatures among high grade gliomas.

Background: Gliomas are the most common type of primary brain tumours, and in this group glioblastomas (GBMs) are the higher-grade gliomas with fast progression and unfortunate prognosis. Two major aspects of glioma biology that contributes to its awful prognosis are the formation of new blood vessels through the process of angiogenesis and the invasion of glioma cells. Despite of advances, two-year survival for GBM patients with optimal therapy is less than 30%. Even in those patients with low-grade gliomas, that imply a moderately good prognosis, treatment is almost never curative. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of a small fraction of glioma cells with characteristics of neural stem cells which are able to grow in vitro forming neurospheres and that can be isolated in vivo using surface markers such as CD133. The aim of this study was to define the molecular signature of GBM cells expressing CD133 in comparison with non expressing CD133 cells. This molecular classification could lead to the finding of new potential therapeutic targets for the rationale treatment of high grade GBM.

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Garcia JL, Perez-Caro M, Gomez-Moreta JA, Gonzalez F, Ortiz J, Blanco O, Sancho M, Hernandez-Rivas JM, Gonzalez-Sarmiento R, Sanchez-Martin M