Downregulation of ADAMTS3 Suppresses Stemness and Tumorigenicity in Glioma Stem Cell

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of human brain tumor, with a poor prognosis and a median overall survival of fewer than 15 months. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) have recently been identified as a key player in tumor initiation and therapeutic resistance in GBM. ADAMTS family of metalloproteinases is known to cleave a wide range of extracellular matrix substrates and has been linked to tissue remodeling events in tumor development. Here, we investigate that ADAMTS3 regulates GSC proliferation and self-renewal activities, and tumorigenesis in orthotopic xenograft models.

ADAMTS3 mRNA expression levels in normal human astrocyte (NHA), glioma, and GSCs cell lines were compared. After knockdown of ADAMTS3, alamarBlue assay, in vitro limiting dilution, and orthotopic xenograft assays were performed. To investigate the tumor-associated roles of ADAMTS3, several statistical assays were conducted using publicly available datasets.

ADAMTS3 level was remarkably higher in GSCs than in NHA, glioma cell lines, and their matched differentiated tumor cells. Interestingly, knockdown of ADAMTS3 disrupted GSC's proliferation, self-renewal activity, and tumor formation in vivo. Furthermore, ADAMTS3 could be used as an independent predictor of malignancy progression in GBM.

We identified ADAMTS3 as a potential therapeutic target for GBM.