Glioblastoma multiforme: can neural stem cells deliver the therapeutic payload and fulfill the clinical promise?

摘要

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are defined as progenitor cells of the CNS. They have the capacity for self-renewal and multipotent potential to differentiate into three major types of CNS cells: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Recently, NSCs have received a great deal of attention owing to their therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative and oncologic diseases. It has been speculated for many years that it may be possible to formulate a novel cell replacement platform for these diseases by harnessing NSCs' multipotent nature. In the last decade, many in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the unique migratory capacity of NSCs throughout the brain. In 2000, Aboody et al., along with several other groups, were able to show that NSCs transplanted into animal models of brain neoplasia were found near metastatic tumor beds far from their site of original transplantation [1,2]. These observations galvanized the concept of stem cell-based targeted delivery of anticancer agents to disseminated tumors in the brain. The ability of NSCs to migrate to tumors is central to their utility as carriers of therapeutic, antineoplastic modalities.