Molecular medicine reports
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Despite advancements in research made over the past decades, the prognosis of gliomas remains dismal. Fas/Fas ligand (Fas-L)-related immunotherapy may be regarded as a treatment of choice as it can induce the apoptosis of glioma cells, and has shown promising results in experimental studies. Over the years, brain glioma stem cells (BGSCs) have been accepted as the origin of gliomas and determine their biological features. ⋯ The results showed that the Fas and Fas-L mRNA expression levels in BGSCs were lower compared to those in primary cultured glioma cells, which were statistically significant (P<0.001). These results indicate that immunotherapy involving Fas/Fas-L may not eradicate the BGSCs, which would result in the relapse of glioma. However, further research is required to investigate the mechanisms involved and define the prospect of Fas-involved immunotherapy against gliomas.