The failure in the stabilization of glioblastoma-derived cell lines: spontaneous in vitro senescence as the main culprit

PLoS One. 2014 Jan 30;9(1):e87136. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087136. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Cell line analysis is an important element of cancer research. Despite the progress in glioblastoma cell culturing, the cells isolated from the majority of specimens cannot be propagated infinitely in vitro. The aim of this study was to identify the processes responsible for the stabilization failure. Therefore, we analyzed 56 primary GB cultures, 7 of which were stabilized. Our results indicate that senescence is primarily responsible for the glioblastoma cell line stabilization failure, while mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis play a minor role. Moreover, a new technical approach allowed for a more profound analysis of the senescent cells in primary cultures, including the distinction between tumor and normal cells. In addition, we observed that glioblastoma cells in primary cultures have a varied potential to undergo spontaneous in vitro senescence, which is often higher than that of the normal cells infiltrating the tumor. Thus, this is the first report of GB cells in primary cell cultures (including both monolayer and spheroid conditions) rapidly and spontaneously becoming senescent. Intriguingly, our data also suggest that nearly half of GB cell lines have a combination of TP53 mutation and CDKN2A homozygous deletion, which are considered as mutually exclusive in glioblastoma. Moreover, recognition of the mechanisms of senescence and mitotic catastrophe in glioblastoma cells may be a step towards a potential new therapeutic approach.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis
  • Base Sequence
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor / physiology*
  • Cell Movement
  • Cellular Senescence
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / genetics
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Gene Deletion
  • Glioblastoma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Mitosis
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells / physiology
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics

Substances

  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16
  • TP53 protein, human
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

Grants and funding

This study was sponsored by National Science Centre Grant No. 2011/03/N/NZ1/06534 (analyses of senescence) and by Polpharma Science Foundation (other analyses). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.