Glioma cancer stem cell antigens (GSC antigens)

Glioma cancer stem cell antigens are a group of proteins and markers preferentially expressed on glioma stem cells (GSCs), which are a subpopulation of glioblastoma cells responsible for tumor initiation, progression, and resistance to standard therapies [2, 7]. These antigens include cell surface receptors such as CD133, IL13Rα2, and EGFRvIII, as well as intracellular transcription factors like SOX2 and structural proteins like Nestin [4, 9, 16]. They play vital roles in maintaining the self-renewal, multipotency, and invasive properties of GSCs within the tumor microenvironment [8, 18]. Therapeutic strategies targeting these antigens, such as the ICT-107 dendritic cell vaccine and various CAR-T cell therapies, aim to provoke an immune response specifically against the stem cell niche to prevent tumor recurrence [1, 11, 13]. For instance, ICT-107 targets a panel of six antigens: MAGE-1, HER2, AIM-2, TRP-2, gp100, and IL13Rα2 [14, 15]. Targeting these antigens is intended to overcome the limitations of conventional treatments that primarily affect the tumor bulk but spare the resistant stem cell population [3, 16]. However, the clinical utility of these targets is often complicated by the high degree of intratumoral heterogeneity and the fact that many GSC antigens are also expressed on normal neural stem cells, raising concerns about potential neurotoxicity [6, 10, 12].

Other names

Glioblastoma stem cell markersGSC markersGlioma stem-like cell antigensBrain tumor stem cell antigens

Immunotherapy (vaccination or adoptive cell transfer) to induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses; small molecule inhibition of stemness-maintaining signaling pathways such as STAT3, Notch, and Hedgehog.