Identification and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells in Mouse Medulloblastoma and Glioma
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Identification and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells in Mouse Medulloblastoma and Glioma by Ryan Jackson Ward A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology University of Toronto © Copyright by Ryan Jackson Ward 2010 Cancer Stem Cells in Mouse Brain Tumours Ryan Jackson Ward Doctor of Philosophy Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology University of Toronto 2010 Abstract According to the cancer stem cell hypothesis a subpopulation of cells within a tumour has the capacity to sustain its growth. These cells are termed cancer stem cells, and are most simply defined as the cells within a primary tumour that can self-renew, differentiate and regenerate a phenocopy of that cancer when transplanted in vivo. Cancer stem cells have now been prospectively identified from numerous human tumours and are actively sought in many cancer types, both clinical and experimental. The cancer stem cell hypothesis remains controversial, with evidence both supporting and challenging its existence in human tumours and in animal models of disease. Here we prospectively identify and study brain cancer stem cells in clinically representative mouse models of the medulloblastoma and glioma. Cancer stem cells from both mouse brain tumour types are prospectively enriched by fluorescent activated cell sorting freshly dissociated cells for the surface antigen CD15, display a neural precursor phenotype, exhibit the hallmark stem cell characteristics of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, and regenerate a phenocopy of the original tumour after orthotopic transplantation. Additionally, novel mouse medulloblastoma and glioma cancer stem cell lines were established and studied in vitro as adherent cultures in the same serum-free media conditions that support the growth of normal neural stem cells. When mouse and human glioma stem cell lines were compared, many novel molecular mediators of the tumour phenotype were identified, as were chemical compounds that ii selectively inhibit their growth. Our results have important implications regarding the cancer stem cell hypothesis, the mechanisms that drive brain tumour stem cell growth and the therapeutic strategies that may prove effective for the treatment of glioma and medulloblastoma. iii Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii List of Supplemental Figures ....................................................................................................... xiv List of Supplemental Tables ......................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Brain Tumours .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Medulloblastoma ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Hedgehog Signalling & Human Medulloblastoma ................................................. 3 1.1.3 Human Glioma ........................................................................................................ 7 1.1.4 Mouse Glioma ....................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Developmental Neurobiology ........................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Cerebellar Development ....................................................................................... 15 1.2.2 Forebrain Development ........................................................................................ 16 1.3 Mouse and Human Neural Stem Cells .............................................................................. 17 1.4 Cancer Stem Cells ............................................................................................................. 19 1.4.1 The Cancer Stem Cell Hypothesis ........................................................................ 19 1.4.2 Leukemia Stem Cells ............................................................................................ 22 1.4.3 Cancer Stem Cells in Solid Malignancies ............................................................. 23 1.4.4 Brain Tumour Stem Cells ..................................................................................... 23 1.4.5 The Cancer Stem Cell Controversy ...................................................................... 24 1.5 The Cell-of-origin: Cancerous Stem Cells versus Cancer Stem Cells .............................. 25 iv 1.6 Hypothesis, Potential Significance and Specific Aims of this Ph.D. Thesis .................... 27 1.6.1 Specific Aims ........................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 28 2 Multipotent CD15+ Cancer Stem Cells in Patched-1 Deficient Mouse Medulloblastoma ...... 28 2.1 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 28 2.2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 29 2.3 Materials & Methods ........................................................................................................ 31 2.3.1 Mouse Husbandry and Tumour Processing .......................................................... 31 2.3.2 Flow Cytometry, Cell Sorting and In vivo Injections ........................................... 31 2.3.3 Intracerebellar Ganciclovir Infusion ..................................................................... 32 2.3.4 Tissue Culture, DNA, RNA and Protein Analysis ................................................ 32 2.3.5 Immunocytochemistry & Immunohistochemistry ................................................ 33 2.4 Results ............................................................................................................................... 34 2.4.1 Rare, Phenotypically Primitive and Multipotent Ptc1+/- MB Cells can be Propagated In Vitro. .............................................................................................. 34 2.4.2 Ptc1+/-p53-/- MB Cell Lines Initiate the Growth of Phenotypically Representative Tumours In Vivo. .......................................................................... 37 2.4.3 Ptc1+/- MB Cell Lines Maintain Activated Hedgehog and Notch Signalling Pathways. .............................................................................................................. 40 2.4.4 Loss of Ptc1 Heterozygosity, or WT RNA Expression, is not required for Ptc1+/- MB Development. ...................................................................................... 42 2.4.5 CD15 Enriches for Proliferative Cells In Vitro and Tumourigenic Cells In Vivo ....................................................................................................................... 44 2.5 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 60 3 Percoll Density Centrifugation Separates Functionally Distinct CD15+ Patched-1 Mouse Medulloblastoma Cells. ............................................................................................................ 60 3.1 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 60 3.2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 61 v 3.3 Materials and Methods ...................................................................................................... 63 3.4 Results ............................................................................................................................... 65 3.5 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 73 4 Cellular, Molecular and Chemical Profile of Clinically Representative Cancer Stem Cells from a Chemical-Genetic Mouse Model of Glioma. ............................................................... 73 4.1 Abstract ............................................................................................................................