Acta neuropathologica
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Acta neuropathologica · Apr 2013
GDNF mediates glioblastoma-induced microglia attraction but not astrogliosis.
High-grade gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors. Their malignancy is promoted by the complex crosstalk between different cell types in the central nervous system. Microglia/brain macrophages infiltrate high-grade gliomas and contribute to their progression. ⋯ In vitro migration assays also showed that GDNF is a strong chemoattractant for microglia. While GDNF release from human or mouse glioma had a profound effect on microglial attraction, the glioma-induced astrogliosis was not affected. Finally, we could show that injection of GL261 mouse glioma cells with GDNF knockdown by shRNA into mouse brains resulted in reduced tumor expansion and improved survival as compared to injection of control cells.