Tumor vessels fuel the fire in glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma, a subset of aggressive brain tumors, deploy several means to increase blood vessel supply dedicated to the tumor mass. This includes typical program borrowed from embryonic development, such as vasculogenesis and sprouting angiogenesis, as well as unconventional processes, including co-option, vascular mimicry, and transdifferentiation, in which tumor cells are pro-actively engaged. However, these neo-generated vascular networks are morphologically and functionally abnormal, suggesting that the vascularization processes are rather inefficient in the tumor ecosystem. In this review, we reiterate the specificities of each neovascularization modality in glioblastoma, and, how they can be hampered mechanistically in the perspective of anti-cancer therapies.