Open AccessCD133 Is Essential for Glioblastoma Stem Cell Maintenance
Author(s) -
Brescia Paola,
Ortensi Barbara,
Fornasari Lorenzo,
Levi Daniel,
Broggi Giovanni,
Pelicci Giuliana
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.1317
Subject(s) - neurosphere , biology , stem cell , progenitor cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer stem cell , neural stem cell , small hairpin rna , gene silencing , cancer research , rna interference , downregulation and upregulation , cancer cell , immunology , cell culture , cancer , cellular differentiation , adult stem cell , rna , genetics , gene , gene knockdown
The role of the cell surface CD133 as a cancer stem cell marker in glioblastoma (GBM) has been widely investigated, since it identifies cells that are able to initiate neurosphere growth and form heterogeneous tumors when transplanted in immune‐compromised mice. However, evidences of CD133‐negative cells exhibiting similar properties have also been reported. Moreover, the functional role of CD133 in cancer stem/progenitor cells remains poorly understood. We studied the biological effects of CD133 downregulation in GBM patient‐derived neurospheres. Our results indicate that there is not a hierarchical relation between CD133‐positive and CD133‐negative cells composing the neurospheres. Indeed, CD133 appears in an interconvertible state, changing its subcellular localization between the cytoplasm and the plasmamembrane of neurosphere cells. Silencing of CD133 in human GBM neurospheres using lentivirus‐mediated short hairpin RNA impairs the self‐renewal and tumorigenic capacity of neurosphere cells. These results imply that CD133 could be used as a therapeutic target in GBMs. S TEM C ELLS 2013;31:857–869