Cancerous stem cells can arise from pediatric brain tumors

Pediatric brain tumors are significant causes of morbidity and mortality. It has been hypothesized that they derive from self-renewing multipotent neural stem cells. Here, we tested whether different pediatric brain tumors, including medulloblastomas and gliomas, contain cells with properties similar to neural stem cells. We find that tumor-derived progenitors form neurospheres that can be passaged at clonal density and are able to self-renew. Under conditions promoting differentiation, individual cells are multipotent, giving rise to both neurons and glia, in proportions that reflect the tumor of origin. Unlike normal neural stem cells, however, tumor-derived progenitors have an unusual capacity to…

• CI
  California Institute of Technology
• UO
  University of California, Los Angeles

  Award: GM08042
• UP
  U.S. Public Health Service
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health
• JC
  Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
• DG
  David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles