The Effect of Glioblastoma on Pericytes

Abstract

Intratumoral pericytes (PC) do not share the same tumor niche as peritumoral PC. Furthermore, glioblastoma multiforme (GB) cells do not seem to affect them equally. Therefore, for a better understanding of the effects of GB on PC, in this chapter, we will classify them according to whether they are intratumoral or peritumoral PC, focusing mainly on peritumoral effects, which seem to have better future prospects for finding effective therapies in GB cancer. Recently, it has been shown that PC could be the main target of the tumor infiltration front and have a fundamental role in the proliferation, expansion, and survival of the tumor, as well as in the regulation of anti-tumor immune responses. Modulation of the immune function of PC through molecular mechanisms such as chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) seems to be essential to prevent an immunosuppressive microenviroment that facilitates tumor growth. GB is the most frequent and aggressive brain tumor. In the last years, PC have been gaining special attention due to their role in GB progression. GB cells infiltrate away from the tumor core more often and faster when they are associated with perivascular cells. However, to find targeted therapies against PC to promote their brain defense function and improve anti-tumor immune responses requires a better understanding of the heterogeneity, markers, and distribution of PC at origin.