Low- and high-grade glioma endothelial cells differentially regulate tumor growth.

Background: A key feature distinguishing high-grade glioma (HGG) from low-grade glioma (LGG) is the extensive neovascularization and endothelial hyperproliferation. Prior work has shown that tumor endothelial cells (TEC) from HGG are molecularly and functionally distinct from normal brain EC and secrete higher levels of pro-tumorigenic factors that promote glioma growth and progression. However, it remains unclear whether TEC from LGG also express pro-tumorigenic factors, and to what extent they functionally contribute to glioma growth.

Methods: Transcriptomic profiling was conducted on tumor endothelial cells (TEC) from grade II/III (LGG, IDH-mutant) and grade IV HGG (IDH-wildtype). Functional differences between LGG- and HGG-TEC were evaluated using growth assays, resistance to anti-angiogenic drugs and radiation therapy. Conditioned media and specific factors from LGG- and HGG-TEC were tested on patient-derived gliomasphere lines using growth assays and in co-transplantation studies in orthotopic xenograft models.

Results: LGG-TEC showed enrichment of extracellular matrix and cell cycle-related gene sets and sensitivity to anti-angiogenic therapy whereas HGG-TEC displayed an increase in immune response-related gene sets and anti-angiogenic resistance. LGG- and HGG-TEC displayed opposing effects on growth and proliferation of IDH-wildtype and mutant tumor cells. Asporin (ASPN), a small leucine rich proteoglycan enriched in LGG-TEC was identified as a growth suppressor of IDH-wildtype GBM by modulating TGFΒ1-GPM6A signaling.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that TEC from LGG and HGG are molecularly and functionally heterogeneous and differentially regulate the growth of IDH-wildtype and mutant tumors.