Glial Progenitor-Like Phenotype in Low-Grade Glioma and Enhanced CD133-Expression and Neuronal Lineage Differentiation Potential in High-Grade Glioma

Abstract

This study constitutes an important step towards clarification of lineage commitment and differentiation blockage of glioma cells. Our data suggest that glioma cells may resemble expansion of glial lineage progenitor cells with compromised differentiation capacity downstream of A2B5 and O4 expression. The concurrent expression of neuronal markers demonstrates that high-grade glioma cells are endowed with multi-lineage differentiation potential in vivo. Importantly, enhanced CD133 expression marks a poor prognosis in gliomas.