Targeted therapy of brain tumors utilizing neural stem and progenitor cells

Neural stem and progenitor cells derived from the central nervous system (CNS) of embryonic and adult mammals share three critical features: 1. Stem and progenitor cells are highly migratory, 2. Stem and progenitor cells have affinity for areas of CNS pathology, and 3. The pluripotentcy of neural stem and progenitor cells allows them to engraft and replace damaged tissues in the CNS. These properties suggest that transplanted neural stem cells might be used to deliver molecular therapy to diseased regions of the nervous system, and to regenerate lost tissues. One of the greatest challenges and potential promises of stem cell therapy is to direct therapy to pathological tissues comprised of cells which themselves are migratory. The ability of glioma cells to migrate extensively into normal brain parenchyma in part underlies the lethal nature of these tumors. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which neural stem cells migrate to specific sources of injury may allow us to harness these cells as vehicles for delivery of molecular therapies to impact survival in patients with recalcitrant gliomas.