Patent Application
20100323385
The present invention is directed to a method for isolating and establishing Growth Factor-Independent (GF-I) Tumor Stem Cells (TSCs) from tumor biopsies or tumor cell lines consisting in culturing cells in serum-free mitogen-free culture medium.
Mitogenic growth factors (GFs) (Perona, 2006) play a critical role in the control of the proliferation and self-renewal of normal somatic stem cells (SCs), including those derived from the central nervous system (CNS) (Reynolds and Weiss, 1992). Intriguingly, the signaling pathways activated by these mitogens are often up regulated in tumors and directly contribute to oncogenesis through the activation of both autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. This phenomenon has been clearly demonstrated for hematopoietic malignancies and it is also involved in the process of gliomagenesis.
In the last ten years, the identification and isolation of putative tumor stem cells (TSCs) has been reported for different types of tumors, including leukemia and breast cancer. Very recently, TSCs have been identified within brain tumors as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), medulloblastoma and ependymoma (Vescovi et al., 2006). These studies employed the in vitro neurosphere assay (NSA) (Reynolds and Rietze, 2005), which is based on the continuous exposure of cells to epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), in order to progressively enrich the putative stem cells within the original heterogeneous tumor cell population (Galli et al., 2004) (Lee et al., 2006). In addition, GBM TSCs have also been purified by the expression of the surface antigen AC133 (Singh et al., 2004).
Importantly, mitogenic stimulation allowed the isolation and the enrichment of TSCs, which were capable of generating experimental tumors, whose phenotype resembled that of primary human tumors more faithfully than tumors generated from the commonly employed glioma cell lines (Galli et al., 2004) (Lee et al., 2006).
However, in vitro exposure to EGF or FGF-2 is known to promote important functional changes in neural progenitors. Stimulation of adult subventricular zone (SVZ) cells with EGF induces the generation of neurospheres, not only from quiescent type B stem cells, but also from type C transit-amplifying progenitors. This suggests that EGF can alter the normal differentiation program in the SVZ. Similarly, culturing of fate-committed embryonic spinal cord precursors or bipotent astroglial/oligodendroglial O2A progenitors in the presence of FGF2 affects their differentiation competence, by inducing the acquisition of a developmental improper tri-potent cell fate in vitro, or the reversion to a state resembling that of multipotent NSCs, respectively. Thus, GFs appear to critically affect the basic properties of neural progenitors.
The concept of mitogen-induced functional alterations might be applied also to other tumor cells. Since in these cells growth factor stimulation would result in profound modifications of tumor-associated features we have developed a method to culture tumor cells in the absence of mitogenic stimulation. By this methodology long-term cultures of growth factor-independent (GF-I) Tumor Stem Cells have been established.
The present invention is directed to a method for isolating and establishing Growth Factor-Independent (GF-I) Tumor Stem Cells (TSCs) from a tumor biopsy or a tumor cell line consisting in culturing cells in serum-free mitogen-free culture medium.
The method discloses growth conditions in a culture medium which does neither comprise serum, nor EGF (Epidermal Growth factor) and FGF-2 (Fibroblast Growth Factor), nor both, nor EGF or FGF-2 derivatives with the same mitogenic characteristics of the parent molecules.
According to a preferred embodiment, the method is directed to the isolation of Tumor stem cells (TSCs) from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or from other brain tumors or brain tumor cell lines.
Growth Factor-Independent TSCs can be identified and expanded in vitro providing a homogeneous population of multipotent, self-renewing and highly tumorigenic Growth Factor-Independent TSCs, distinguishable from tumor stem cells derived with other methods, grown in parallel, for the above characteristics. Despite their reduced proliferation in vitro, GF-I TSCs have dramatically increased tumorigenic potential, which is reflected by a pro-invasive molecular signature and by peculiar characteristics. According to a preferred embodiment, said TSC cells are Glioblastoma Multiforme derived stem cells. As confirmed in GBM derived TSCs, the concurrent proliferative and invasive ability of TSCs obtained in mitogen-free condition recalls the phenotype of the highly infiltrative cells of human GBMs. Therefore GF-I TSCs isolated according to the present invention represent an unprecedented and highly reliable tool for the preparation of in vitro and in vivo models by which developing therapies specifically tailored to target the most aggressive cell component of tumors.
(A) Phase-bright microphotographs of neurospheres from GF-D and GF-I TSC cultures show clear differences in clone morphology. Bar: 60 μm. (B) Differences in the growth kinetics were detected between GF-D, GF-I and GF-I/D TSC lines. (C) The growth profile of GF-I TSCs is biphasic, consisting in an early selection phase and a late expansion stage. (D) Serial clonogenic assays show that GF-I TSCs display the same clonal efficiency of GF-D TSCs. (E) Quantitative analysis of the frequency of neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in both TSC types is summarized. Mean±S.E.M., Student t test, P<0.05, n=3. (F) Immuno-fluorescence (IF) for neuronal (Tuj1, white), glial (GFAP, white) and oligo-dendroglial (GalC, white) markers demonstrates the multipotency of GF-I TSCs. Bar: 60 μm.
(A) Forty days following intracranial implantation, tumors derived from GF-I TSCs were more extended and invasive than those generated by GF-D TSCs, as shown by MRI (upper panels, sagittal and coronal sections) and by human-specific IF (lower panels, human nuclei, green/light grey). (B) The volumes of GF-I-derived tumors were significantly larger than those of tumors derived from GF-D TSCs. MRI-based volumetric analysis; Student t test, P<0.05; n=10. (C) Kaplan-Meier plot of overall survival of animals transplanted with GF-I and GF-D TSCs. Log-rank test, P<0.0001; n=20. (D) GF-I TSC-derived tumors showed a higher mitotic index than GF-D tumors (40 days post-transplantation, DPT; Student t test, P<0.05, n=3). (E) Mean vessel area was increased in GF-I tumors (Student t test, P<0.001; n=4). (F) Whereas CD147+ vessels (red/diffuse grey) in GF-D tumors were small, regular in shape and uniformly associated to pericytes (NG2, green peripheral staining), blood vessels in GF-I tumors were enlarged and discontinuously covered by NG2+ pericytes. Bar: 60 μm.
(A) EGF-R was highly expressed in GBM GF-I TSCs. RT-PCR with EGFR specific primers. Lane 1: GF-D TSCs; lane 2: GF-I TSCs. (B) The enhanced expression of EGF-R in GF-I TSCs was confirmed at the protein level. Western-Blot (upper left panel, anti-EGFR). Increased phosphorylation of the EGF-R (right panels) and strong activation of MAP kinase- and Akt-dependent intracellular cascades was observed mostly in GF-I TSCs (left panel, anti-phosphoERK1 and ERK2 and antiphosphoAkt). Lane 1: GF-D TSCs; lane 2: GF-I TSCs; lane 3: GF-I/D TSCs. (C) Upper panels. Most of the GF-I TSCs were positive for EGF-R, whereas only a subpopulation of GF-D TSCs and GFI/D TSCs was labeled for the same antigen (EGF-R, cytoplasmic green staining; TO-PRO3, TP3, dark blue nuclear staining). Bar: 60 μm. Lower panels. FACS analysis. Left histograms show high-level mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of EGF-R in GF-I TSCs (blue/dark grey line) as compared to GF-D TSCs (red/light grey line); black line: IgG isotype control. Dot plots on the right show three different cell populations (regions R1, R2 and R3) identified by EGF-R expression and by relative MFI in both types of TSCs. (D) The intense level of EGF-R expression detected in GF-I TSCs by FC correlates with increased receptor density (insets). Intracytoplasmic vacuoles, dashed arrow. (E) EGF-R staining highlighted the presence of structures as filopodia (arrows) and lamellipodia (arrowhead) in GF-I TSCs. Bar in upper panels: 6 μm. Bar in lower panels: 12 μm.
Addendum
(A) Secondary TSC lines, expanded in vitro from both GF-I and GF-D GBM TSC-derived tumors, displayed similar growth profiles when plated in the presence (black lines) or in the absence (dashed lines) of mitogens; n=3. (B) Expression of EGF-R (green) was detected at similar level and cell frequency in GF-I and GF-D TSC-derived tumors (right panels). Nuclear counterstaining: TO-PRO 3, dark blue. Bar: 15 μm. (C) Phase-bright microphotographs of neurospheres from primary (p)-GF-D and p-GF-I TSC cultures isolated directly from patient's tumor specimens showed clear differences in clone size; n=4. Bar: 120 μm. (D) p-GF-I TSCs expanded in culture more slowly than p-GF-D TSCs but similarly to GF-I TSCs derived from established p-GF-D TSC lines. (E-F) p-GF-I TSCs isolated from a specimen of human anaplastic ganglioglioma (AGG) are more tumorigenic and aggressive than their GF-D counterpart, as shown by MRI 3 months post transplantation (E) and by macroscopic analysis 4 months post-transplantation (F).
(A) Volumetric analysis of tumor volumes by MRI at 75 days after intracranial transplantation indicated that EGF-R expression strongly correlates with the tumorigenic potential of GBM cells (Student t test, P<0.05). (B) MRI-based T2-weighted images showed that significant differences in tumor volumes were observed when EGF-R positive and negative cells from primary tumor tissues were transplanted (75 DPT; Student t test, p<0.05).
(A) Breast cancer from pMyt as described in Qiu et al., 2004; (BC)-derived p-GF-D and p-GF-I TSCs have been long term cultured in vitro. Whereas GF-D TSCs display homogeneous morphology, GF-I TSCs give rise to monolayer containing specialized and more differentiated areas. (B) BC p-GF-I TSCs long term proliferate, although more slowly than their GF-D counterpart. (C) Volumetric analysis demonstrates that tumors derived from p-GF-I TSCs are larger than those generated by p-GF-D TSCs.
The present invention relates to a method for establishing Growth Factor-Independent (GF-I) Tumor Stem Cells (TSCs) from biopsies of a tumor or a tumor cell line, consisting in culturing cells in serum-free mitogen-free culture medium. Said culture medium is characterized for not comprising any serum or serum derived component nor any mitogenic factor (Perona, 2006); in particular it does neither comprise EGF (Epidermal Growth factor) nor FGF-2 (Fibroblast Growth Factor-2), nor EGF or FGF-2 derivatives with the same growth and/or mitogenic properties. The term EGF or FGF-2 derivatives refers to peptides or polypeptides with an amino acid sequence homology of at least 90% to the active portion of the molecules and able to trigger the same biological responses in vitro (namely cell proliferation and self-renewal) of the whole molecule.
For the purposes of the present invention, the term tumor encompasses primary tumors, their metastases and secondary tumors; the term tumor cell line comprises a tumor stem cell line (i.e. a growth factor dependent tumor stem cell line).
In order to achieve a homogeneous population of TSCs cultured cells are allowed to grow for at least 10 passages in said serum free mitogen free culture medium. According to a preferred embodiment, growth is preferably continued for a number of passages of at least 10 and usually lower than 20, said final values comprising also intermediate values, such as 11, 12, 13 and so on passages. A preferred composition of the culture medium comprises a buffer system, an osmotic regulator and a hormone mixture. An even more preferred culture medium composition further comprises a protein carrier and a heparin-like compound. The buffer system is preferably Hepes and/or NaHCO3, the osmotic regulator is a non-reducing sugar such as glucose and the hormone mix composition comprises as active principles the following compounds: insulin, transferrin or its derivatives such as apotransferrin, a salt of selenious acid preferably with an alkaline or alkaline-terrous metal, most preferably Na2SeO3.5H2O (selenite), a progenestinic hormone such as progesterone, a polyammine compound such as putrescine. The protein carrier is preferably serum albumin, preferably bovine, the heparin-like compound is heparin and the basal culture medium is a mix of both DMEM and F12.
TSCs in growth factors or serum independent conditions are characterized by a slower proliferation rate than that observed in Growth Factor (or serum)-dependent conditions. As a consequence, in order to verify that bona fide true TSCs have been amplified, the method further comprises culturing cells in parallel, in growth factor dependent conditions, and obtaining proliferation curves from both dependent and independent growth factor conditions for a period of at least 10 subculturing passages, comparing said curves, wherein a slower proliferation curve is indicative that “bona fide” GF-I TSC have been isolated.
TSCs in growth factors or serum independent conditions are characterized also by a higher invasive capacity than that observed in Growth Factor (or serum)-dependent conditions. As a consequence, in order to verify that bona fide TSCs have been amplified, the method further comprises culturing cells in parallel, in growth factor dependent conditions, and measuring the migration or invasion ability of cells grown in both dependent and independent growth factor conditions and comparing them, wherein a higher invasive capacity is indicative that “bona fide” GF-I TSC have been isolated.
A further indication that “bona fide” GF-I TSC have been isolated comprises the characterization of TSC multipotency, which is carried out by plating cells, after at least 10 passages, preferably 12, even more preferably 15, 20 or 30 all in growth factor independent condition, onto an adhesion substrate such as polyornithine or Matrigel® and allowing cells to differentiate into the specific lineages expected from the tissue of origin of the tumor for at least 2 weeks. Differentiated cultures can be fixed with 4% paraformalheyde and stained with tissue specific antibody markers, i.e. for GBM derived TSCs, with neural-specific antibodies such as Tuj1 for neurons, GFAP for astrocytes and GaIC for oligodendrocytes. The frequency of each cell lineage can be quantified by counting the number of immunoreactive cells for each single lineage and dividing the number for the total cell number as assessed by Hoescht counterstaining.
“Bona Fide” Tumor Stem Cells obtained according to the conditions disclosed in the present invention have been called growth factor-independent (GF-I) TSCs for the purposes of the present invention.
For comparison purposes, it is intended that growth factor dependent (GF-D) conditions refer to cell growth conditions in culture medium comprising at least a mitogen or a growth factor, or serum, or that it comprises at least a mitogen selected from EGF, FGF-2 or both, which is added to the culture medium. The method of the invention is applied to tumors and to tumor cell lines preferably from mammals, even more preferably from humans and rodents. In particular to tumor or tumor cell lines derived from brain, from colon, breast and/or pancreas carcinomas or carcinoma cell lines.
Preferred models for deriving TSCs are brain tumors selected from the group consisting of: anaplastic ganglioglioma (AGG), glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or medulloblastoma.
The invention therefore refers to bone fide TSCs obtained according to the present invention, from the above tumor specimen or tumor cell lines.
In some embodiments, when the starting material is a brain specimen or even more preferably a glioblastoma multiforme biopsy, the method further comprises sorting and/or selecting for EGF-R positive cell population either before or after growth in serum-free or growth factors-free cell culture medium.
The method of amplification of TSCs may also comprise as an optional step, the transformation with heterologous DNA sequences, either cloned in a vector or not, i.e. encoding a reporter gene. For a heterologous sequence it is intended any nucleic acid sequence which has to be introduced into the TSC in vitro by transfection, elettroporation, microinjection or infection
Tumor Stem Cells (TSCs) obtainable according to the method of the present invention are characterized a) by a slow growth in vitro and enhanced proliferation and invasion in vivo, and b) by a highly malignant phenotype, as assessed by either in vivo or in vitro assays.
Growth factor-independent (GF-I) TSCs can be isolated from established growth factor-dependent (GF-D) TSCs upon mitogen withdrawal and display the cardinal features of true TSCs as a) long term self-renewal, b) multipotency, c) in vivo tumorigenesis. Although GF-I TSCs in vitro proliferate significantly slower than GF-D TSCs, in vivo they give rise to highly aggressive and invasive tumors, which forms and progresses dramatically faster than tumors derived from the GF-D counterpart. This indicates that these GF-I TSCs represent a highly malignant population of TSCs, which is also characterized by a specific pro-invasive molecular signature. For GF-I TSC-derived from a fraction of post-surgery specimens of GBM, this includes the enhanced expression of the receptor for the EGF (EGF-R).
The invention hence relates to a method for isolating Tumor Stem Cells (TSCs) from: a) tumor biopsies, preferably from brain, prostate, and breast tumors, b) from tumor stem cell lines, preferably human glioblastoma TSC lines (such as those described in (Galli et al., 2004), mouse medulloblastoma TSC lines (isolated from the Patched mutant mouse (Goodrich et al., 1997), mouse breast cancer TSC lines (isolated from the PyMT transgenic mouse (Qiu et al., 2004), mouse prostate cancer TSC lines (isolated from the TRAMP transgenic mouse (Gingrich et al., 1996) and c) from serum-dependent traditionally established tumor cell lines as glioma U87 (ATCC HTB-14). Cells are preferably enzymatically or mechanically disaggregated in case of a specimen/biopsy. In the case of brain tumors, the preferred method is based on the use of tryptic enzyme as trypsin and papain. In the case of non-neural tumors and among other proteases, type IV collagenase is the enzyme of choice.
During culture in GF-independent conditions cells may undergo the formation of spheres (i.e. neuro-spheres or mammo-spheres). In these cases the cell culture is continued until primary spheres, neurospheres or mammospheres, develop. The isolation of 1st generation spheres may be followed by disaggregation of said primary spheres and by further subculturing cells, at a density of at least 8×104 cells/cm2 in medium without serum and without mitogen or growth factors, as described above until 2nd or further generation spheres develop. TSC are isolated after at least 10 passages in the same culture medium without Growth Factors), preferably 12, more preferably 15 passages, or even more preferably 18-20 passages, depending on the cells type.
In the isolation of GF-I TSCs from brain tissues, the method brings to primary neurospheres, which can be isolated when they reach an average diameter not larger than 300 μm, preferably comprised from 100-300 μm. For culture derived from glioblastoma this usually corresponds to a 7-15 days culture.
Glioblastoma stem cells obtainable according to the present invention show typically a AC133neg phenotype. Until now, the expression of this marker has been shown to be specific of human neural stem cells as well as of human tumor stem cells. In the TSCs of the present invention, the absence of AC133 expression together with EGF-R over-expression defines a typical and novel antigenic profile for glioblastoma stem cells obtained according to the present invention, contrary to the prior art disclosures.
The molecular profile is also typical of the GBM TSC GF-independent cells obtained according to the invention. These TSCs show increased expression of the following genes: EGFR, Wnt5a, Wnt8b; MMP11 12 and 16, N-cadherin, desmin, ATM, TIMP1 and 2, CDK6, CCK4, TGF-beta, FGF8, basigin, TNFR, EPS15, cadherin 13, NT4, 5 and 6, as defined by cancer-specific macroarrays (complete listing in
Also the invasive ability of GF-D TSCs and GF-I TSCs is different: it is higher for GF-I TSCs obtained according to the present invention, preferably at least about twice that of GF-D TSCs invasive phenotype, as measured for example by volume density measure in migration/invasion assay in vitro, as follows: tumor stem cells are plated onto 6-well Transwell® chambers coated with Matrigel® overnight in DMEM/F12 mitogen-free medium. 7-14 days after plating, cells on the upper side of the filters are mechanically removed, and those migrated onto the lower side are fixed and stained by using the cellular staining DiffQuick®. Migration of cells is evaluated by volume density values acquired by a densitometer scanner and compared for the two populations of TSCs.
The above properties (slower growth rate and higher invasivity) characterize TSCs obtained from different tumors, such as those obtainable from brain and breast. Accordingly, the method provides for the preparation of a homogeneous population of multipotent, self-renewing and highly tumorigenic Growth Factor-Independent TSCs, distinguishable from tumor stem cells derived with other methods, grown in parallel, for the above characteristics.
Despite their reduced proliferation in vitro, GF-I TSCs have dramatically increased tumorigenic potential, which is reflected by a pro-invasive molecular signature and by peculiar morphological characteristics.
Because of their highly malignant phenotype, the isolated cells of the present invention represent a critical tool for the development of both in vivo and in vitro preclinical models for highly aggressive tumors, preferably for glioblastoma models, and for other types of malignancies as well, to be exploited for the identification of novel therapeutics and the generation of diagnostic and prognostic assays for these tumors.
TSCs cells are suitable for the in vitro screening of compounds or libraries with anti-tumorigenic activity wherein one of the following response is measured, as compared to untreated and/or Growth factor dependent stem cells: a) short-term self-renewing capacity, b) long-term self-renewing capacity, c) proliferation, d) differentiation, e) migration and/or invasion ability of TSCs, f) morphological modifications, h) modification of the gene expression profile.
In this context, the stem cells described in the present invention may also be engineered by transformation or transduction of at least one heterologous vectors carrying reporter (i.e. green fluorescent protein, GFP, luciferase, etc.) or therapeutically relevant genes.
Further embodiments of the method, which may comprise further additional steps, are described below and in the claims.
The GF-I TSC-specific “memory” of the invasive ability of their tumor of origin, which cannot be retrieved in the human tumor stem cells, in particular in the glioma tumor stem cell lines available so far and dramatically reduced in GF-D TSCs, confers to GF-I TSCs an extraordinary potential. In fact, GF-I TSCs represent a relevant experimental tool a) to identify genes involved in the process of brain tumor initiation, progression and recurrence, b) to generate assays aimed at the validation of the molecular fingerprint of such cells as diagnostic/prognostic markers, and c) as therapeutic targets.
For example GF-I TSCs can be further subcloned by culturing in Growth Factor-free medium to isolate mitogen-independent subpopulations showing additional properties, such as resistance to ionizing radiation/radiotherapy or to chemotherapy, or selected for their ability to extrude the dye Hoechst (Kondo et al. 2004) (side population, SP).
Since in TSC derived from glioblastoma, EGF-R positive cells show an enhanced tumorigenic ability and mitogen independence as shown in the present invention, the frequency of EGF-R positive cells in primary tumor samples together with the frequency of mitogen independent neurospheres generated upon in vitro culturing of EGF-R positive cells gives rise to a powerful biological assay which has both diagnostic and prognostic significance.
Therefore a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises as a prognostic and/or diagnostic assay, the method of the invention for the isolation and amplification of TS cells from a tumor specimen in GF-Independent condition, comprising, as a further step, the characterization of TSC isolated as described above, for the level of EGF-R expression, wherein a higher EGF-R level correlates with poorer prognosis.
Moreover suitable and specifically tailored therapeutic approaches may be designed on each patients' isolated TSCs (as the method is simple and rather inexpensive) these being directed and targeted, as a consequence, against the most aggressive component of tumors (GBMs, or other proliferating/infiltrating tumor stem cells), which gives rise to minimal residual disease, eventually leading to tumor relapse.
By definition, the requirement of GF-I TSCs to grow under very basic culture conditions in order to proliferate, together with their capacity to grow unlimitedly (over 100 passages in colture), allows the development of efficient biological in vitro assays. Several functional parameters, mostly related to stemness, are directly measured in response to imposed stimuli (e.g. chemical compounds and/or biological drugs).
Many functional properties of stem cells can be employed as parameters for the evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of biological compounds or drugs. Specific assays are available in the art to measure: a) short-term and long-term self-renewing capacity, b) proliferation, c) differentiation, d) migration/invasion ability of TSCs and e) morphological modifications.
This assay can be used to select molecules having anti-tumor activity, in particular drugs affecting the self-renewal properties of TSCs, a relevant feature responsible for the maintenance of the stem cell compartment. a) Short-term self-renewal analysis can be measured on individual clonal spheres which are transferred to 15 ml microfuge tubes containing 1 ml of appropriate medium (1 sphere/tube), where cells are dissociated by pipetting in culture medium. The cell suspension is plated in a clean dish of a 48, 24, or 12 well plates (depending on the number of viable cells) and cells incubated at 37° C. in the humidified chamber. Within one hour of plating, the number of cells obtained by dissociation of each clone under the microscope is counted. A subset of these cells will proliferate giving rise to secondary clones. The cloning efficiency is calculated normalizing the number of secondary clones by the total number of cells in the same well, as assessed by direct observation one hour after dissociation.
Long-term self-renewal is measured on a cell suspension prepared from spheres, washed with culture medium and seeded at a density of about 8×103 cells/cm2 in culture medium in untreated tissue flasks. The total cell number is calculated at first. At each subculturing passage, dissociated cells are re-plated at the standard cell density; then, the total cell number obtained is calculated. The total cell number is divided by the number of cells originally plated and the amplification rate is multiplied to the value obtained at the previous passage. These values plotted against the time, for at least 10 cell passages, define the growth curves representing each cell line: their slope is a direct measure of the self-renewal capacity of the stem cell population.
c) Anti-proliferation properties can be measured for example after plating TSCs from different tumors onto poly-ornithine-coated 96-well plates (1×104 cells/well). Residual proliferation in the presence of an unknown substance is measured by the methyl-3H-thymidine incorporation assay in a β-scintillation counter and compared to the one measured in untreated cells.
d) Differentiation assay. Differentiation in the presence or absence of unknown substances can be measured by growth of TSCs on adhesive substrates: diluted laminin or Matrigel® solution at the concentration according to the manufacter's instructions ( 1/100 of the stock solution in mitogen-free medium). 4×104 cells/cm2 are plated in the appropriate volume of mitogen-free medium alone or containing 20 ng/ml of Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF).
e) Migration/invasion assays. The activity of anti-invasive molecules is usually measured by plating 2×105 cells onto 6-well Transwell® chambers (Corning Costar, Cambridge, Mass.) coated with Matrigel® overnight in DMEM/F12 mitogen-free medium. 7-14 days after plating, cells on the upper side of the filters are mechanically removed, and cells migrated onto the lower side are fixed and stained by using DiffQuick® (Dade Behring, Ill., USA). Migration of cells is evaluated by volume density values acquired by a densitometer scanner.
f) Quantification of morphological modifications by immunostaining for cytoskeleton markers. F-actin determination was carried out by staining cells with TRITC-labelled phalloidin (1:500; SIGMA, St. Louis, Mo., USA) or with anti-gelsolin (1:50, kind gift from Prof. Marchisio, DIBIT, H. San Raffaele, Milan, Italy). The number of invasive cells is quantified by counting the cells displaying evident ring-like actin bundles in their cytoplasm.
Selection of bioactive compounds is carried out by measuring the biological response of treated TSC and by comparing it to one obtained in untreated cells.
GF-I TSCs isolated and amplified according to the present invention may be further treated to block their ability to growth, for example by irradiation, treatment with biological molecular inhibitors, traditional chemotherapeutic agents and used in immunotherapy of oncologic patients, or they are genetically modified. According to a preferred embodiment TSCs are isolated and amplified from brain, breast, colon, prostate cancer specimens, then they are preferably characterized and formulated into compositions suitable for their re-introduction into the patients. In such a way immunotherapy of an oncologic patient is tailored to and specific for the most aggressive component of the tumor.
According to a preferred embodiment, the use of GF-I TSC isolated from glioblastoma is useful in immunotherapy for brain tumors, in particular glioblastoma.
Compositions comprising such inactivated or genetically modified cells in a form suitable for administration to an oncologic patient, are comprised within the above therapeutic embodiment.
According to a further embodiment the present invention relates to a tumor prognostic and/or diagnostic method wherein an efficient isolation of GF-I TSC from patient's tumor tissue specimens is associated to malignant diagnosis and/or poor prognosis.
A) GF-I TSC Isolation from Unsorted Tumor Tissue
Human tumor tissues obtained as post-surgery samples or biopsies have been collected in complete, ice-cold growth medium containing antibiotics. The tumor tissue has been separated from the remainder of the material (hemorrhagic and necrotic areas) and processed as soon as possible. A digestion mix has been prepared by weighing out papain, cystein and EDTA. For 50 ml of digestion solution: 47.2 mg of papain, 9 mg of cystein and 9 mg of EDTA. Add 30 ml of EBSS to the tube containing papain/cystein/EDTA. 0.5 ml of 0.1°/oDNAse stock and further 20 ml of EBSS have been added, filter sterilize. Warm up culture medium to 37° C. in a thermostatic water-bath.
Place dish under dissecting microscope at high magnification (25×), dissect out the desired tissue fragment(s) and place tissue in a 35-mm dish containing ice-cold PBS.
The pieces of tissues have been placed into the 15 ml tubes containing the papain mix solution with incubation at 37° C. for 30-60 minutes. At the end of the enzymatic incubation, tissues have been pelleted by centrifugation at 110×g for 10 minutes.
The pellet was added with 3 ml of ovomucoid solution (0.7 mg/ml in culture medium) and triturated with a glass Pasteur pipette, until almost no un-dissociated pieces were left.
Cells have been pelleted and afterward seeded at a density of 8×103 viable cells/cm2 in DMEM/F12 medium containing or not EGF/FGF-2 for GF-D and GF-I TSCs respectively. The growth factor-free, chemically defined DMEM/F12 final medium composition is the following: 2 mM L-glutamine, 0.6% glucose, 9.6 μg/ml putrescin, 6.3 μg/ml progesteron, 5.2 ng/ml sodium selenite, 0.025 mg/ml insulin, 0.1 mg/ml transferrin, and 2 μg/ml heparin. Single cells proliferated to form spherical clusters (primary neurospheres). Primary neurospheres from GBMs developed in culture from 3 to 30 days after plating in the presence/or absence of growth factors used.
To obtain neurospheres from EGF-R positive tumor cells, glioblastoma tumor cells were sorted with FITC-conjugated rabbit anti-EGF-R, clone EGFR.1 (1:100; Chemicon), on a Becton Dickinson (San Jose, Calif.) FACS Vantage SE FACSDiVa equipped with Argon Ion and HeNe lasers. EGF-R positive non-tumor cells as endothelial and hemopoietic cells were excluded from sorting after identification by colabelling with CD34 and CD45/11b, respectively.
GF-I TSCs were also derived from GF-D TSC lines (Galli et al., 2004) (Lee et al., 2006), by culturing GF-D TSCs in the absence of growth factors. After 5-15 days, as a consequence of the selection process in the absence of both adhesion substrates and mitogens, death of EGF-R negative cells and the positive selection of the minority of EGF-R positive cells occurs, thus giving rise to a small number of GF-I neurospheres.
As opposed to GF-D TSCs, GF-I TSCs gave rise to very compact and tight neurospheres. In some cases, clones needed to be disaggregated by mechanical dissociation associated with enzymatic digestion. Upon sub-culturing, most of the stem cells survive and generate secondary spheres.
Subculture has been carried out when the spheres reached an average diameter of 100-300 μm. The average subculturing time will require, approximately, 7-15 days for GF-I TSCs.
Atlas™ Human Cancer cDNA expression arrays were purchased from BD Biosciences (cat #7742-1) and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Total RNA from GF-D TSCs, GF-I TSCs and HFNSCs was extracted using the RNeasy Mini kit (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif., USA). cDNA was obtained by using Superscript RNase H− Reverse Transcriptase (Gibco, Rockville, Md., USA). All cDNAs were previously normalized throughout a β-Actin RT-PCR.
Tumorigenicity was determined by injecting a minimum of 100 up to 2×105 GF-D and GF-I TSCs, for orthotopic transplantation, and a minimum of 1×106 up to 3×106 GF-D and GF-I TSCs, for subcutaneous inoculum, either from primary tumor tissues or by established GF-D TSCs, (Galli et al., 2004). Tumor growth was monitored and quantified by MRI. Mice were sacrificed at different times comprised between 1-10 weeks post-injection, according to the cell line originally injected. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and IF were performed on 15 μm-thick cryostat sections. Antibodies/antisera used were: mouse anti-human nuclei (1:100; Chemicon, Temecula, Calif., USA), mouse anti-human EGF-R (1:100; Calbiochem, San Diego, Calif., USA), rabbit anti-Ki67 (1:200; Novocastra, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK), rabbit anti-NG2 (1:300; Chemicon) and rat anti-CD147 (1:600; Serotec, Oxford, UK).
GF-D and GF-I TSCs were incubated with 0.5% bovine serum albumine (BSA) in PBS for 30 minutes, and then stained for 30 minutes using the FITC-conjugated rabbit anti-EGF-R, clone EGFR.1 (1:100; Chemicon). Cells were analyzed and sorted on a Becton Dickinson (San Jose, Calif.) FACS Vantage SE FACSDiVa equipped with Argon Ion and HeNe lasers. Cells were identified and electronically gated on forward and orthogonal light scatter signals. Events representing cells binding anti-EGF-R were identified by their light scatter (FSC and SSC) and fluorescence signatures (FITC).
Identification and Characterization of Growth Factor-Independent (GF-I) TSCs from Established Growth Factor-Dependent (GF-D) GBM TSC Lines.
To assess if neurospheres could be generated in the absence of mitogenic stimulation, GF-D TSCs were plated in basal medium devoid of EGF and FGF-2. Withdrawal of the two mitogens from the culture medium induced a high rate of cell death in TSC cultures (not shown) but allowed to a fraction of TSCs to proliferate and to form floating primary neurospheres after 4-10 days in culture. Interestingly, neurospheres from GF-D TSCs displayed conventional morphology (
These GF-I cells could be successfully long-term expanded in vitro, proving their extensive self-renewal capacity. Interestingly, the global growth trend of GF-I cells, assessed from the fourth passage onward by population analysis, was strikingly low when compared to that of GF-D TSCs, suggesting the presence of a reduced number of stem cells or changes in their proliferative ability (
Remarkably, the growth kinetics of GF-I cells suggested that progressive positive selection of a cell subpopulation occurred during mitogen-free cell culture (
To analyze the short-term self-renewal ability and the symmetry of division of GF-I cells, we performed sub-cloning assays. The number of secondary neurospheres generated from the dissociation of an individual clone was normalized to the number of originally seeded cells (clonal efficiency). No significant differences could be detected between GF-D cells and GF-I cells in terms of clonal efficiency (
As determined by immuno-fluorescence (IF) staining of lineage-specific markers, GF-I cells were able to differentiate into the three neural lineages, i.e. neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, thus proving their multipotency. Following quantitative analysis, a statistically significant increase in the frequency of each lineage was detected in GF-I cultures (
As opposed to self-renewal ability and differentiation potential, tumor-associated properties as aberrant karyotype and telomerase activity (Galli et al., 2004) were similar between the two culture conditions.
Therefore, by satisfying the requirements of self-renewal and multipotency in vitro, GF-I cells demonstrated to behave as bona fide stem cells and have been defined as GF-I TSCs.
Orthotopic Xenografts of GF-I TSCs Display Enhanced Growth and Invasive Capability with Respect to GF-D TSCs.
To evaluate if mitogen withdrawal might affect the tumorigenic ability of GBM TSCs, we transplanted GF-I and GF-D TSCs into the brain of nude mice and found that both types of TSCs developed into tumors, closely resembling the invasive phenotype of the human pathology (Galli et al., 2004). Remarkably, tumors generated from GF-I TSCs were much more extended and invaded the brain parenchyma more efficiently than those from GF-D TSCs (n=20), as shown by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based volumetry and serial histological reconstruction by IF of human-specific antigens (
The highly malignant behavior of intracranially transplanted GF-I TSCs was preserved when these cells were injected subcutaneously. GF-I TSC-derived tumors displayed full penetrance and enhanced oncogenicity, as opposed to tumors generated from GF-D TSCs.
Forty days after transplantation, histological analysis of intracranial tumors derived from GF-D and GF-I TSCs showed that they were similar based on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and the expression of the glial marker GFAP (not shown). However, GF-I TSC-derived tumors proliferated more rapidly than those derived from GF-D TSCs, as shown by quantitative analysis of the proliferation marker Ki67 (
When we determined the extent of tumor vascularization by staining for the brain-specific endothelial marker CD147, the total vascular area resulted >3-fold higher in GF-I TSC-derived tumors than in GF-D TSCs, as measured by computer-assisted digital image analysis. Since vessel density did not differ between the two tumor types (not shown), it comes that the mean vessel area was significantly increased in tumors originated from GF-I TSCs (
The differences in proliferation and angiogenesis might be secondary to the marked difference in size between GF-I and GF-D tumors when analyzed at the same time point. However, comparison of GF-D tumors allowed to grow for 60 days with GF-I tumors grown for 40 days only, which, at these time points of analysis, displayed similar size, confirmed that GF-I TSCs had enhanced ability to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis.
To identify genes differentially expressed between GBM GF-D and GF-I TSCs, and possibly determining the malignant phenotype of GF-I TSCs, we exploited cancer-specific macroarrays. Interestingly, the 38 genes up-regulated by mitogen withdrawal related to central tumor processes such as proliferation, cell adhesion and motility, invasion, and angiogenesis (e.g. Wnt5a, Wnt8b, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 11 and 16, N-cadherin). Thus, the growth factor-independence phenotype in vitro can be described by a specific program of gene expression, which is likely responsible for the highly malignant behavior of GF-I TSCs in vivo.
Remarkably, Matrigel® (Mixture of extracellular matrix molecules B&D) invasion assays showed that, even in culture, GF-I TSCs invaded more efficiently than GF-D TSCs (
Since cell motility depends on cytoskeletal modifications and rearrangements, we also stained both TSC types with phalloidin and gelsolin (
To identify the putative mechanisms, accounting for the capacity of GF-I TSCs to proliferate in the absence of mitogenic stimulation and underlying their increased malignant behavior, we analyzed the expression of several soluble factors and of their cognate receptors, involved in tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis and invasiveness. By RT-PCR, we tested the presence of transcripts for EGF, FGF-2, insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), platelet-derived GFs (PDGFs) and vascular endothelial GFs (VEGFs) in both GF-I and GF-D TSCs, and none of the transcripts for these factors was differentially expressed (not shown). Consistently, secretion of EGF, FGF-2, PDGF-AA, and VEGF165 by ELISA was observed with no significant quantitative differences between both types of TSCs.
Expression of the cognate receptors for these factors was then measured by RT-PCR. EGF-R was strongly up regulated in GF-I TSCs as compared to GF-D TSCs (
Interestingly, IF for human EGF-R on both GF-D and GF-I TSC cultures (
When we analyzed GF-D and GF-I TSCs for EGF-R expression by flow cytometry (FC), we identified three distinct subpopulations within each TSC types. Whereas both GF-D and GF-I TSCs contained similar figures of EGF-Rlow cells (region R2), the frequency of EGF-Rhigh (region R3) and EGF-Rneg (region R1) cells dramatically varied between GF-D and GF-I TSCs, with the latter displaying the highest proportion of intensely labeled cells and the lowest of negative cells (
FACS analysis for the expression of the putative GBM TSC marker AC133 (Singh, 2003) (Singh et al., 2004) showed that a large proportion (60%) of GF-D TSCs was AC133+. Some of these AC133+ GF-D TSCs (15%) were also EGF-R+. Interestingly, the highly tumorigenic GF-I TSCs were uniformly AC133neg, suggesting that AC133 expression is not a pre-requisite for stemness in the absence of mitogenic stimulation.
Notably, the intense labeling of GF-I TSCs for EGF-R shown by FC (
The increased expression the EGF-R on the surface of GF-I TSC reinforced the notion that these cells might be endowed with a motile phenotype. Indeed, by EGF-R staining, the presence of pro-invasive structures such as filopodia and lamellipodia (
The restricted expression of the EGF-R in a fraction of GF-D TSCs (
To confirm that EGF-R expression in EGF-R+ cells supported the progressive enrichment of GF-I TSCs at the expense of EGF-Rneg cells, we extended our study up to 15 sub-culturing passages (corresponding to 84 days in vitro) in the absence of mitogens. At every passage, we measured both the global growth trend and the frequency of EGF-R immuno-reactive cells (
However, when we tested the tumorigenic potential of GF-I TSCs at different sub-culturing passages (
Interestingly, the morphology of GF-I TSCs changed gradually throughout sub-culturing (
To determine whether mitogen independence represents a general property of primary GBMs or a feature of GBMs characterized by genetic modifications of the EGF-R, we analyzed a series of GBM TSC lines for the presence of EGF-R gene mutations and/or gene amplification. By RT-PCR, we assessed the presence of the most common form of mutant EGF-R, which harbours an in-frame deletion mutation of exons 2 to 7 spanning the extracellular ligand-binding domain. By using primers flanking exons 2 to 7, two discrete amplicons distinguishing the expression of EGFRvIII (236 bps) from the larger EGFR wild type transcript (1037 bps) could be identified. Co-expression of the transcript of the mutant and the wild-type receptor could be identified in two out of 10 distinct TSC lines (20%), and in their corresponding tissue of origin. Interestingly, the frequency of EGFRvIII positive TSC lines coincided with the percentage of patient cases in which the variant is normally detected (20-30%). However, mitogen independence did not appear to correlate with the presence of the mutant EGFRvIII, since GF-I TSCs could be generated also from TSC lines expressing only the wild-type EGFR.
EGF-R Expression Identifies Three Distinct GBM TSC Subpopulations with Different Growth Factor Requirement and Tumorigenic Potential.
In order to formally demonstrate that the EGF-R+ TSC population represents the most aggressive TSC component, able to give rise to GF-I TSCs when challenged by mitogen removal, we set out to purify EGF-Rhigh, low and neg cells from GF-D TSCs by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The purity of each cell fraction was 96-98% (not shown). All cell fractions, obtained by the same gates defined for regions R1, R2 and R3 (
When cultured in the presence of GFs, purified EGF-Rhigh, low and neg GF-D TSCs resumed the typical growth behavior of GF-D TSCs, although a longer period of in vitro adaptation was required for EGF-Rhigh TSCs to proliferate extensively, suggesting that events as receptor down-regulation and morphological changes might be necessary for EGF-Rhigh cells to interact with the mitogen-containing in vitro milieu (
When the same three cell fractions were transplanted intracranially into nude mice immediately after cell sorting, 30 days following transplantation tumors could be detected in animals receiving EGF-Rhigh GF-D TSC, whereas no sign of tumor development was observed in mice transplanted with equal numbers of EGF-Rlow and neg GF-D TSCs (
Interestingly, tumors derived from the implant of 2×105 unsorted GF-D TSCs (comprising 1×104 EGF-Rhigh, 5×104 EGF-Rlow and 1.4×105 EGF-Rneg TSCs) were smaller than those generated from purified EGF-Rhigh cells, but similar in size to those developing from a double amount of purified EGF-Rlow cells, suggesting that additional factors, such as paracrine signals, produced by the three different subsets of GF-D TSCs when injected as a whole, might actively contribute to GBM tumorigenesis (
EGF-R Positive Cells from Human Primary GBM Specimens are More Tumorigenic than EGF-R Negative Cells.
EGF-R+ and neg tumor cells were isolated from patient's tumor specimens by FACS. To avoid co-purification of tumor cells with putative EGF-R+ non-tumor cells, both CD34+ endothelial and CD45+/CD11b+ hemopoietic cells were excluded from the sorting. EGF-R+/CD34/CD45/CD11bneg and EGF-Rneg/CD34/CD45/CD11bneg tumor cells were: a) cultured in the presence or absence of mitogens; b) directly transplanted into the brain of nude mice without any in vitro manipulation.
Interestingly, primary neurosphere formation was observed when EGF-R+ GBM cells were grown either in the presence or in the absence of mitogenic stimulation (6.15%±1.6 and 2.15%±1.1, respectively). Conversely, plating of EGF-Rneg GBM cells under both conditions resulted in the generation of very limited numbers of neurospheres, only when cells were exposed to mitogens (0.36%±0.02). Most significantly, when both EGF-R+ and neg GBM cells were intracranially implanted in immunodeficient mice, a striking difference in tumor formation was observed. In fact, when measured 10-12 weeks following transplantation by MRI, EGF-R+ GBM cell-derived tumors were three-fold larger than those generated from EGF-Rneg cells, thus suggesting that EGF-R expression specifically identifies the most aggressive stem cell component also in primary GBMs (
After the demonstration that GF-I TSCs could be retrieved in GF-D TSC lines, we asked whether these TSCs could be identified and isolated also from fresh tumor tissues, thus ruling out the possibility that GF-I TSCs might develop as a mere consequence of long-term culturing in vitro.
We started by analyzing either GF-D or GF-I TSC-derived experimental tumors for the presence of GF-I TSCs. Forty days after orthotopic tumor implantation, we dissected and enzymatically digested both types of tumor tissues and cultured the cells in the presence (Galli et al., 2004) or absence of EGF and FGF2. In the presence of GFs, secondary TSC lines could be established not only from GF-D TSC-derived tumors, as previously reported (Galli et al., 2004), but also from GF-I TSC-derived tumors. Most interestingly, both tumors contained TSCs capable of proliferating and long-term expanding in the absence of mitogens, thus proving that GF-I TSCs are an inherent component of experimental GBMs in vivo. All the secondary TSCs displayed overlapping growth profiles under both in vitro settings, indicating that GF-D and GF-I TSC-derived tumors were similar in terms of stem cell composition and behavior (
In order to verify if the GF-I TSC population might also represent an intrinsic and essential component of human GBMs, we grew equal numbers of freshly dissociated cells from patient's tumor specimens in the presence or in the absence of GFs. Ten to 20 days after plating, similar number of neurospheres could be detected in GF-stimulated cultures (primary, p-GF-D TSCs) and under mitogen-free conditions (p-GF-I TSCs) (
Most importantly, when transplanted intracranially, p-GF-I TSCs formed tumors, which resulted more aggressive and extended than those from p-GF-D TSCs, and similar to those generated from the GF-I TSCs later derived from established p-GF-D TSCs (not shown).
To assess whether other subtypes of brain tumors do contain mitogen-independent TSCs, we cultured equal numbers of freshly dissociated cells from patient's tumor specimens of anaplastic ganglioglioma (AGG) in the presence or in the absence of GFs. As previously shown for GBMs, AGG p-GF-I TSCs could be long-term expanded in vitro in the absence of mitogens, giving rise to self-renewing multipotent GF-I TSC lines. Most importantly, following intracranial implantation, AGG p-GF-I TSCs were endowed with dramatically enhanced tumorigenic capacity (
Isolation and Long-Term Culturing of Bona Fide GBM TSCs in the Absence of GFs Allow the Selective Enrichment of Stem Cells (SCs) with Enhanced Tumorigenic Potential.
In order to enter into an active proliferative status, non-tumor normal cells, including stem cells, strictly require mitogenic growth signals, as GFs, extra-cellular matrix components and cell-to-cell adhesion molecules. In particular, neural stem cells (NSCs) have been identified and isolated only as the result of the exposure to specific mitogens as EGF and FGF-2. However, continuous mitogenic stimulation in vitro has been shown to significantly alter the basic physiology of the exposed cells, by inducing phenotypic reversion.
As opposed to normal cells, tumor cells demonstrate strongly reduced growth factor-dependence and self-sufficiency in growth stimuli. In particular, the establishment of EGF-, FGF-2-, PDGF-, and VEGF-dependent autocrine/paracrine loops and over-expression of their receptors, as EGF-R/erbB and PDGF-R, has been specifically implicated in the growth and progression of high-grade gliomas, also under experimental settings. Since growth factor-induced cellular reprogramming in GBM TSCs has been shown to lead to a decrease or even a loss of tumor-associated properties, as tumor antigenicity and stem cell-specific gene expression, the identification of the TSC population, self-supporting in mitogen stimuli, in brain tumors might coincide with the isolation of the most authentic stem cell, the only able to retain relevant tumor-related features.
In the present study, we describe a novel long-term self-renewing population of TSCs, obtained from both GF-D TSCs and post-surgery specimens of human tumors, by in vitro culture in the absence of mitogens. The resulting GF-I TSCs, although displaying in vitro the same characteristics of their GF-D counterpart, as self-renewal and multipotency, demonstrate in vivo an extraordinary tumorigenic ability, which appears to be sustained by increased cell proliferation and angiogenesis and, in this specific case of TSCs isolated from GBMs, correlates also with EGF-R over-expression. Contextually, we propose that the in vitro propagation of GBM TSCs in the presence of mitogens, although supporting robust in vitro proliferation and subsequent cell expansion, might be detrimental on overall TSC features. In fact, continuous exposure to GFs leads to a strong decrease in the stem cell frequency, as indicated by the small fraction of highly malignant EGF-Rhigh TSCs retrieved in mitogen-stimulated cultures, and to functional alterations in TSCs, as a reduction in their invasive and migratory potential.
The peculiar in vivo behavior of GF-I TSCs suggests that these cells are intrinsically different from GF-D TSCs. In fact, in spite of their very low rate of proliferation in vitro, GF-I TSCs completely changed their growth behavior upon transplantation, demonstrating reduced latency in tumor generation and increased malignancy. This enhanced tumorigenic ability is dependent on the inherent pro-invasive and migratory phenotype of GF-I TSCs. Specific genes might be deregulated upon acquisition of self-sufficiency following mitogen withdrawal. By exploiting macroarrays for small-scale transcriptional profiling, we identified a possible “mitogen independence” program, characteristics of GBM TSCs when deprived of growth stimuli. The program included not only genes controlling cell division but also genes involved in the positive regulation of cell migration and invasion as intermediate filament proteins and metalloproteinases. Thus, the enhanced expression of genes, relevant for tumor dispersal, cell proliferation and angiogenesis, in established GF-I TSCs might predispose and prime the cells to interact with the in vivo microenvironment more proficiently than GF-D TSCs, upon transplantation.
It has been proposed that the occurrence of proliferative and invasive capacity within the same tumor cell might play a fundamental role in tumor dissemination. Accordingly, the identification of Growth Factor-Independent TSCs, which retain both stem-ness (i.e. proliferation and self-renewal) and high mobility features, usually mutually exclusive within the same cell, might have a significant impact in the comprehension of the mechanisms underlying malignant evolution of tumors and in particular of brain tumors and gliomas. At the same time, our findings underline how mitogen stimulation, by compelling TSCs to proliferate and self-renew while decreasing their motility, might modify therapeutically relevant traits in these cells, as the overall capacity for invasion and brain dispersal. Mitogen-independent TSCs are retrieved in primary tumors.
Here we report that GF-I TSC lines are identified and isolated not only from established GF-D TSCs but also from patient's tumor specimens (p-GF-I TSCs), indicating that GF-I TSCs do not arise as a consequence of in vitro progressive selection of aggressive sub-clones, which might have accumulated mutations leading to growth factor-independence. Rather, GF-I TSCs represent a cell population constitutively retrievable within patient's tumors, corresponding to the EGF-R positive fraction of tumor cells in the case of GBMs, and indicating that molecules specifically expressed by GF-I TSCs can be exploited for immunotherapy protocols under autologous settings.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2008/051860 | 2/15/2008 | WO | 00 | 8/14/2009 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60902017 | Feb 2007 | US |
