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World J Stem Cells. Sep 26, 2014; 6(4): 432-440
Published online Sep 26, 2014. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v6.i4.432
Training stem cells for treatment of malignant brain tumors
Shengwen Calvin Li, Mustafa H Kabeer, Long T Vu, Vic Keschrumrus, Hong Zhen Yin, Brent A Dethlefs, Jiang F Zhong, John H Weiss, William G Loudon
Shengwen Calvin Li, Mustafa H Kabeer, Long T Vu, Vic Keschrumrus, Brent A Dethlefs, William G Loudon, Neuro-Oncology and Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience Research, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, University of California-Irvine, Orange, CA 92868, United States
Shengwen Calvin Li, Hong Zhen Yin, John H Weiss, Department of Neurology, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA 92862, United States
Jiang F Zhong, Department of Pathology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States
Author contributions: Li SC conceived the project, performed the cell culture and human ETG culture and wrote the article; Vu LT, Keschrumrus V, Yin HZ and Weiss JH helped make engineered tissue graft; Vu LT did the heat maps; Zhong JF helped microarrays experiments; Loudon WG was for MRI, CED and tumor surgery; Kabeer MH, Dethlefs BA, Zhong JF, Weiss JH and Loudon WG commented on the draft and revision; all authors approved the final article.
Supported by The CHOC Children’s Foundation, CHOC Neuroscience Institute, CHOC Research Institute, The Austin Ford Tribute and Keck Foundation; by The United States National Institutes of Health, 1R01CA164509-01; and The United States National Science Foundation, CHE-1213161
Correspondence to: Shengwen Calvin Li, PhD, Principal Investigator/Head, Neuro-Oncology and Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience Research, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, University of California-Irvine, 1201-D W. La Veta Avenue, Orange, CA 92868, United States. shengwel@uci.edu
Telephone: +1-714-5094964 Fax: +1-714-5164318
Received: May 28, 2014
Revised: August 9, 2014
Accepted: August 30, 2014
Published online: September 26, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: Neural stem cells can target malignant brain tumors in preclinical models; however, clinical trials show dismal efficacy. We reviewed the literature and .found that only a small fraction of applied stem cells can move toward tumors while the majority of stem cells cannot reach the target tumor. To fill in the gap in stem cell technology, we propose a solution to train stem cells in a native tissue environment, allowing them to move through tissue barriers and arrive at the target tumor.