RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Primary Glioblastomas Express Mesenchymal Stem-Like Properties JF Molecular Cancer Research JO Mol Cancer Res FD American Association for Cancer Research SP 607 OP 619 DO 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-06-0005 VO 4 IS 9 A1 Tso, Cho-Lea A1 Shintaku, Peter A1 Chen, James A1 Liu, Qinghai A1 Liu, Jason A1 Chen, Zugen A1 Yoshimoto, Koji A1 Mischel, Paul S. A1 Cloughesy, Timothy F. A1 Liau, Linda M. A1 Nelson, Stanley F. YR 2006 UL http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/4/9/607.abstract AB Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain cancer. Recent isolation and characterization of brain tumor-initiating cells supports the concept that transformed neural stem cells may seed glioblastoma. We previously identified a wide array of mesenchymal tissue transcripts overexpressed in a broad set of primary glioblastoma (de novo) tumors but not in secondary glioblastoma (derived from lower-grade) tumors, low-grade astrocytomas, or normal brain tissues. Here, we extend this observation and show that a subset of primary glioblastoma tumors and their derived tumor lines express cellular and molecular markers that are associated with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and that glioblastoma cell cultures can be induced to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal lineage-like cell types. These findings suggest either that a subset of primary glioblastomas derive from transformed stem cells containing MSC-like properties and retain partial phenotypic aspects of a MSC nature in tumors or that glioblastomas activate a series of genes that result in mesenchymal properties of the cancer cells to effect sustained tumor growth and malignant progression. (Mol Cancer Res 2006;4(9):607–19)