Analysis of pathophysiology of intratumoral microenvironments in glioblastoma using spheroid culture and histopathology

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26460434
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Human pathology
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi University
• Principal Investigator: KIMURA Tokuhiro 山口大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 講師 (40445200)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 病理学 / 癌 / 細胞・組織 / 脳神経疾患 / 脳腫瘍

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Glioblastoma is one of the most intractable neoplasms of the brain, and understanding its pathophysiology is important. Although the presence of necrosis is characteristic of glioblastoma, the in vitro experimental methods for modeling intratumoral microenvironment around necrosis have not been established. In this study, we established the method for culturing human glioblastoma cell lines as spheroids (cell clusters), and compared their histological findings with those of glioblastoma tissues. The area of cell death resembling necrotic foci of glioblastoma tissues emerged at the center of the spheroids. The cell death was found to be based on hypoxia and glucose shortage. We also found that PSF1, a protein related to stem-cell functions, was down-regulated by hypoxia and glucose shortage in glioblastoma cells.

Free Research Field

病理学