Glioblastoma Cancer-Initiating Cells Inhibit T-Cell Proliferation and Effector Responses by the Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 3 Pathway
- 1 January 2010
- journal article
- Published by American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
- Vol. 9 (1), 67-78
- https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.mct-09-0734
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a lethal cancer that responds poorly to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Glioma cancer-initiating cells have been shown to recapitulate the characteristic features of GBM and mediate chemotherapy and radiation resistance. However, it is unknown whether the cancer-initiating cells contribute to the profound immune suppression in GBM patients. Recent studies have found that the activated form of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a key mediator in GBM immunosuppression. We isolated and generated CD133+ cancer-initiating single colonies from GBM patients and investigated their immune-suppressive properties. We found that the cancer-initiating cells inhibited T-cell proliferation and activation, induced regulatory T cells, and triggered T-cell apoptosis. The STAT3 pathway is constitutively active in these clones and the immunosuppressive properties were markedly diminished when the STAT3 pathway was blocked in the cancer-initiating cells. These findings indicate that cancer-initiating cells contribute to the immune evasion of GBM and that blockade of the STAT3 pathway has therapeutic potential. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(1); 67–78Keywords
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