© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 119
A. Birbrair (ed.), Stem Cell Microenvironments and Beyond,
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1041,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-69194-7_7
Chapter 7
Glioblastoma Stem Cells and Their
Microenvironment
Anirudh Sattiraju, Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai, and Akiva Mintz
Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant astrocy-
toma associated with a poor patient survival. Apart from arising de novo, GBMs
also occur due to progression of slower growing grade III astrocytomas. GBM is
characterized by extensive hypoxia, angiogenesis, proliferation and invasion.
Standard treatment options such as surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemo-
therapy have increased median patient survival to 14.6 months in adults but recur-
rent disease arising from treatment resistant cancer cells often results in patient
mortality. These treatment resistant cancer cells have been found to exhibit stem cell
like properties. Strategies to identify or target these Glioblastoma Stem Cells (GSC)
have proven to be unsuccessful so far. Studies on cancer stem cells (CSC) within
GBM and other cancers have highlighted the importance of paracrine signaling net-
works within their microenvironment on the growth and maintenance of CSCs. The
study of GSCs and their communication with various cell populations within their
microenvironment is therefore not only important to understand the biology of
GBMs but also to predict response to therapies and to identify novel targets which
could stymy support to treatment resistant cancer cells and prevent disease recur-
rence. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concept of GSCs and to detail
the latest findings indicating the role of various cellular subtypes within their micro-
environment on their survival, proliferation and differentiation.
Keywords GBM • Glioblastoma stem cells • Microenvironment • Cancer stem
cells
A. Sattiraju • K.K.S. Sai • A. Mintz (*)
Department of Radiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons,
New York, NY, USA
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]