Overexpression of protease-activated receptor type 1 (PAR-1) in glioblastoma multiforme WHO IV cells and blood vessels revealed by NCAM-assisted glioblastoma border labeling

Glioblastomas are neuroepithelial tumors with lost cellular differentiation and tenfold increased growth rates compared to low-grade gliomas. Despite of very aggressive treatment options based on surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy, the prognosis of affected patients has remained poor and showed only slight improvements during the last 30 years. Research on glioblastoma border zone was hindered by the tumor’s intense invasion into the brain parenchyma and the lack of suitable tumor cell markers. Nevertheless, the compact tumor mass and tumor invasion zone are composed of distinct cell types that need to be distinguished from each other to be addressed selectively. As the isoform 140 of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM-140) was recently demonstrated to be lost in human gliomas with rising WHO grade, human multiform glioblastomas were characterized as a NCAM-140 negative entity displaying three main distinct invasion patterns. Evaluation of putative therapy targets within the tumor tissue and tumo...