ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Cell Research (2006): 909-915
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Differentiation profile of brain tumor stem cells: a comparative study with neural stem cells

Quan Bin Zhang, Xiao Yan Ji, Qiang Huang, Jun Dong, Yu De Zhu, Qing Lan

Correspondence: Qiang Huang Tel: +86-512-67783937; E-mail: szqhdnah@pub.sz.jsinfo.net Received 18 May 2006; revised 23 August 2006; accepted 19 Sep 2006

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Understanding of the differentiation profile of brain tumor stem cells (BTSCs), the key ones among tumor cell population, through comparison with neural stem cells (NSCs) would lend insight into the origin of glioma and ultimately yield new approaches to fight this intractable disease. Here, we cultured and purified BTSCs from surgical glioma specimens and NSCs from human fetal brain tissue, and further analyzed their cellular biological behaviors, especially their differentiation property. As expected, NSCs differentiated into mature neural phenotypes. In the same differentiation condition, however, BTSCs exhibited distinguished differences. Morphologically, cells grew flattened and attached for the first week, but gradually aggregated and reformed floating tumor sphere thereafter. During the corresponding period, the expression rate of undifferentiated cell marker CD133 and nestin in BTSCs kept decreasing, but 1 week later, they regained ascending tendency. Interestingly, the differentiated cell markers GFAP and β-tubulinIII showed an expression change inverse to that of undifferentiated cell markers. Taken together, BTSCs were revealed to possess a capacity to resist differentiation, which actually represents the malignant behaviors of glioma.

Cell Research (2006) 16:909-915. doi: 10.1038/sj.cr.7310104; published online 7 November 2006

Keywords: brain tumor stem cell, neural stem cell, differentiation