Glioma Associated Stem Cells (GASCs) Isolation and Culture

Glioma Associated Stem Cells (GASCs) represent a population of non-tumorigenic multipotent stem cells hosted in the microenvironment of human gliomas. In vitro, these cells are able, through the release of exosomes, to increase the biological aggressiveness of glioma-initiating cells. The clinical importance of this finding is supported by the strong prognostic value associated with the GASCs surface immunophenotype thus suggesting that this patient-based approach can provide a groundbreaking method to predict prognosis and to exploit novel strategies that target the tumor stroma (Bourkoula et al., 2014).