Vascular Transdifferentiation in the CNS: A Focus on Neural and Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cells

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the close interplay between neural stem cells (NSCs) and glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) within their respective niches. NSCs are proposed to be at the origin of GSCs. Both NSCs and GSCs show transdifferentiation capacities towards the vascular lineage, that is, pericytes and endothelial cells. In both systems, this plasticity has consequences on the niche homeostasis: it influences either neurogenesis and the blood brain barrier integrity in the physiological neurovascular niche or tumoral growth and associated vascularization in the glioblastoma context.