Abstract

Development & Characterization of Glioma Stem Cell Lines and Application of these Cell Lines as a Tool for Screening Anticancer Activity

Padma Shastry, Scientist, National Centre for Cell Science

High grade gliomas (HGG) or malignant gliomas are the most common of brain tumors in adults. Despite marked improvement in multimodality treatment, the median survival period of patients is <12 months. Recent reports underscore the importance of ‘cancer stem cells' (CSC) within solid tumors that compel tumor formation and growth. Therefore studies are focused on CSC and the resistance of this population to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. One of the factors limiting the progress of understanding the role of CSC in HGG is the lack of appropriate experimental models. We have established a glioma stem cell line, HNGC (human neuro-glial cell line) -2, derived from low grade glioma tumor. The cell line is characterized for features of neural stem cells and potential to develop intracranial tumors. The talk will also cover - development and establishment of other primary cell lines and cultures from HGG, development and use of 3D- multicellular spheroids (MCS) cultures from these cells to study drug resistance and highlight the potential of these cell lines/cultures as models for screening potential anticancer compounds/agents.