Spheres isolated from 9L gliosarcoma rat cell line possess chemoresistant and aggressive cancer stem-like cells.

The rat 9L gliosarcoma is a widely used syngeneic rat brain tumor model that closely simulates glioblastoma multiforme when implanted in vivo. In this study, we sought to isolate and characterize a subgroup of cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) from the 9L gliosarcoma cell line, which may represent the tumor-initiating subpopulation of cells. We demonstrate that these CSLCs form clonal-derived spheres in media devoid of serum supplemented with the mitogens epidermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, express the NSC markers Nestin and Sox2, self-renew, and differentiate into neuron-like and glial cells in vitro.