A major obstacle for drug delivery to malignant brain tumors is the existence of a Blood Tumor Barrier (BTB). Scientists at the Cleveland Clinic discovered that glioma stem cell (GSC)-derived pericyte coverage of tumor vasculature is inversely correlated with glioblastoma patient survival after chemotherapy. Using a PerkinElmer IVIS Spectrum CT (S10OD18205), one of 9 small-animal multi-modality CT imagers funded by the ORIP Shared Instrumentation Program in the last 3 years, researchers demonstrated that targeting the GSC-derived pericytes disrupts the BTB, and enhances the chemotherapeutic efficacy. Targeting neoplastic pericytes to significantly improve treatment of brain tumors may hold promise.
Strategic Plan Section
Accelerating Research Discoveries by Providing Access to State-of-the-Art Instrumentation - Continue to accelerate research discoveries by providing access to state-of-the-art instrumentation