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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Maintaining Human Glioblastoma Cellular Diversity Ex vivo using Three-Dimensional Organoid Culture
Published on: August 25, 2022
Hypoxia-inducible factors regulate tumorigenic capacity of glioma stem cells
Zhizhong Li1, Shideng Bao, Qiulian Wu
1Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
Glioblastomas are lethal cancers characterized by florid angiogenesis promoted in part by glioma stem cells (GSCs). Because hypoxia regulates angiogenesis, we examined hypoxic responses in GSCs. We now demonstrate that hypoxia-inducible factor HIF2alpha and multiple HIF-regulated genes are preferentially expressed in GSCs in comparison to non-stem tumor cells and normal neural progenitors. In tumor specimens, HIF2alpha colocalizes with cancer stem cell markers. Targeting HIFs in GSCs inhibits self-renewal, proliferation, and survival in vitro, and attenuates tumor initiation potential of GSCs in vivo. Analysis of a molecular database reveals that HIF2A expression correlates with poor glioma patient survival. Our results demonstrate that GSCs differentially respond to hypoxia with distinct HIF induction patterns, and HIF2alpha might represent a promising target for antiglioblastoma therapies.
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