Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles as Novel Tool in Glioma Treatment: An In vitro Study

Abstract

The interaction between cancer cells and the stromal microenvironment is an important aspect in tumor progression and reflects a big challenge especially in context of an efficient treatment of brain tumors such as gliomas. An intensive crosstalk between glioma cells and stromal cells such as endothelial cells inter alia being part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) often results in the occurrence of a relapse and poor prognosis. A complete resection of gliomas which are characterized by a high proliferation rate and invasiveness as well as extensive vascularization is not possible until yet and a post-operative care with existing therapies is crucial and often not as successful as expected. In that context, redox-active nanoparticles such as cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNP) are a promising tool and may solve some treatment problems closely associated with brain tumors. In this study, CNP have a cytotoxic effect on anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III glioma) cells while the same concentration shows no cytotoxicity on microvascular endothelial cells used as stromal cell model. However, the migration capacity of endothelial cells, their invasiveness and the formation of new blood capillaries is lowered as well as the expression and/or secretion of the angiogenesis marker EMMPRIN, being a positive aspect in anticancer therapies. These data are a first indication that CNP may have potential for an application in a therapy against malignant gliomas (grade III and IV glioma).