Hypoxia-induced expression of VE-cadherin and filamin B in glioma cell cultures and pseudopalisade structures

Abstract

Most of our knowledge regarding glioma cell biology comes from cell culture experiments. For many years the standards for glioma cell culture were the use of cell lines cultured in the presence of serum and 20 % O2. However, in vivo, normoxia in many brain areas is in close to 3 % O2. Hence, in cell culture, the experimental value referred as the norm is hyperoxic compared to any brain physiological value. Likewise, cells in vivo are not usually exposed to serum, and low-passaged glioma neurosphere cultures maintained in serum-free medium is emerging as a new standard. A consequence of changing the experimental normoxic standard from 20 % O2 to the more brain physiological value of 3 % O2, is that a 3 % O2 normoxic reference point enabled a more rigorous characterization of the level of regulation of genes by hypoxia. Among the glioma hypoxia-regulated genes characterized using this approach we found VE-cadherin that is required for blood vessel formation, and filamin B a gene involved in endothelial cell motility. Both VE-cadherin and filamin B were found expressed in pseudopalisades, a glioblastoma pathognomonic structure made of hypoxic migrating cancer cells. These results provide additional clues on the role played by hypoxia in the acquisition of endothelial traits by glioma cells and on the functional links existing between pseudopalisades, hypoxia, and tumor progression.