Metalloproteinases ADAM10 and ADAM17 Mediate Migration and Differentiation in Glioblastoma Sphere-Forming Cells

Glioblastoma is the most common form of primary malignant brain tumour. These tumours are highly proliferative and infiltrative resulting in a median patient survival of only 14 months from diagnosis. The current treatment regimens are ineffective against the small population of cancer stem cells residing in the tumourigenic niche; however, a new therapeutic approach could involve the removal of these cells from the microenvironment that maintains the cancer stem cell phenotype. We have isolated multipotent sphere-forming cells from human high grade glioma (glioma sphere-forming cells (GSCs)) to investigate the adhesive and migratory properties of these cells in vitro. We have focused on the role of two closely related metalloproteinases ADAM10 and ADAM17 due to their high expression in glioblastoma and GSCs and their ability to activate cytokines and growth factors. Here, we report that ADAM10 and ADAM17 inhibition selectively increases GSC, but not neural stem cell, migration and that the migrated GSCs exhibit a differentiated phenotype. We also observed a correlation between nestin, a stem/progenitor marker, and fibronectin, an extracellular matrix protein, expression in high grade glioma tissues. GSCs adherence on fibronectin is mediated by α5β1 integrin, where fibronectin further promotes GSC migration and is an effective candidate for in vivo cancer stem cell migration out of the tumourigenic niche. Our results suggest that therapies against ADAM10 and ADAM17 may promote cancer stem cell migration away from the tumourigenic niche resulting in a differentiated phenotype that is more susceptible to treatment.