Malignant gliomas are the most frequent primary brain tumors and remain among the most incurable cancers. Although the role of the gap junction protein, connexin43, has been deeply investigated in malignant gliomas, no compounds have been reported with the ability to recapitulate the tumor suppressor properties of this protein in in vivo glioma models.,TAT-Cx43266-283, a cell-penetrating peptide which mimics the effect of Cx43 on c-Src inhibition, was studied in orthotopic immunocompetent and immunosuppressed models of glioma. The effects of this peptide in brain cells were also analyzed.,While glioma stem cell malignant features were strongly affected by TAT-Cx43266-283, these properties were not significantly... More
Malignant gliomas are the most frequent primary brain tumors and remain among the most incurable cancers. Although the role of the gap junction protein, connexin43, has been deeply investigated in malignant gliomas, no compounds have been reported with the ability to recapitulate the tumor suppressor properties of this protein in in vivo glioma models.,TAT-Cx43266-283, a cell-penetrating peptide which mimics the effect of Cx43 on c-Src inhibition, was studied in orthotopic immunocompetent and immunosuppressed models of glioma. The effects of this peptide in brain cells were also analyzed.,While glioma stem cell malignant features were strongly affected by TAT-Cx43266-283, these properties were not significantly modified in neurons and astrocytes. Intraperitoneally administered TAT-Cx43266-283 decreased the invasion of intracranial tumors generated by GL261 mouse glioma cells in immunocompetent mice. When human glioma stem cells were intracranially injected with TAT-Cx43266-283 into NOD/SCID mice, there was reduced expression of the stemness markers nestin and SOX-2 in human glioma cells at 7 days post-implantation. Consistent with the role of SOX-2 as a transcription factor required for tumorigenicity, TAT-Cx43266-283 reduced the number and stemness of human glioma cells at 30 days post-implantation. Furthermore, TAT-Cx43266-283 enhanced the survival of immunocompetent mice bearing gliomas derived from murine glioma stem cells.,TAT-Cx43266-283 reduces the growth, invasion, and progression of malignant gliomas and enhanced the survival of glioma-bearing mice without exerting toxicity in endogenous brain cells, which suggests that this peptide could be considered as a new clinical therapy for high-grade gliomas.,© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology.
