Isolation of glioma cancer stem cells in relation to histological grades in glioma specimens

The gliomaspheres were formed in WHO grade IV (13 of 21) and III (two of nine) gliomas. Among them, WHO grade IV (11 of 13) and III (two of two) gliomaspheres showed similar surface markers to gCSCs and were capable of neural differentiation. Lastly, among the chosen cells, 10 of 11 WHO grade IV and two of two WHO grade III gliomaspheres were capable of gliomagenesis. Thus, overall, the rates of existence of gCSCs were more prominent in high-grade gliomas: 47.6 % (10 of 21) in WHO grade IV gliomas and 22.2 % (two of nine) in WHO grade III gliomas, whereas WHO grade II and I gliomas showed virtually no gCSCs.