Abstract 3073: Exploring the malignancy-promoting interaction between neural stem cells and lateral ventricle-associated glioblastoma
Authors: Norton Emily S. , Whaley Lauren A. , Carrano Anna , Zarco Natanael , Lara-Velazquez Montserrat A. , Quinones-Hinojosa Alfredo , Guerrero-Cazares Hugo 
Published: July 2021

Introduction: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor in adults. The interaction of GBM with the lateral ventricles (LVs) has a significant effect on patient outcome, where LV-proximal GBM results in increased distal recurrence, increased stem cell marker expression, and decreased overall survival compared to LV-distal counterparts. Though the reason for this is unknown, it may be due in part to interaction of GBM with the subventricular zone (SVZ), the largest neurogenic niche. The SVZ contains populations of neural stem cells (NSCs) throughout life that produce many proteins supporting stem cell growth and maintenance. The goal of this project is to identify a bidirectional signaling axis between GBM cells and NSCs and determine its contribution to GBM malignancy.

Methods: In vitro, patient-derived GBM brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs) were co-cultured with human fetal NSCs for 48 hours. Both BTICs and NSCs were analyzed for levels of viability, proliferation, migration, and the expression of malignancy-associated factors at a gene and protein level. A method for unbiased cell-specific proteomic labeling was established in vitro by cloning L274G-mutated methionyl tRNA synthetase (MetRS*) into a lentivirus with puromycin resistance. In vivo, Nestin-Cre-ERT2 mice were crossed with the STOPflox R26-MetRS line to establish a tamoxifen-inducible model to label NSC proteins.

Results: BTICs co-cultured with NSCs showed increased viability, proliferation, and migration compared to controls. NSCs showed decreased proliferation and increased migration when co-cultured with BTICs. Both show increased levels of malignancy-associated genes and proteins including osteopontin, vimentin, tenascin C, and PDGFA upon co-culture. MetRS*-labeled cells successfully incorporate azide-labeled methionine analog in a cell-specific manner, and labeled proteins are able to be isolated for future proteomic analysis. In vivo, tamoxifen successfully induces the expression of MetRS* and GFP.

Conclusion: We have determined that there is a bidirectional signaling axis between NSCs and BTICs that contributes to proliferation, migration, and malignancy-associated factors in GBM. Future studies looking at proteomic changes in both GBM and NSCs using the MetRS* labeling are needed to fully characterize the interaction between these cells in vitro and in vivo to identify new therapeutic targets for LV-associated GBM.

Citation Format: Emily S. Norton, Lauren A. Whaley, Anna Carrano, Natanael Zarco, Montserrat A. Lara-Velazquez, Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, Hugo Guerrero-Cazares. Exploring the malignancy-promoting interaction between neural stem cells and lateral ventricle-associated glioblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 3073.