Relationship of neural stem cells with their vascular niche: Implications in the malignant progression of gliomas

During embryogenesis and in regions of the adult brain undergoing post-natal neurogenesis, neural stem cells and endothelial precursors are found within a vascular niche, where the coordinated interactions between neurogenesis and vasculogenesis dictates development and responses to the environment. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that gliomas may arise from transformed neural stem cells and that angiogenesis is important in the malignant progression of these tumors. Taken together, these findings have led researchers to focus on the dynamic interaction between neural stem cells and their vascular niche so as to find new therapeutic strategies to halt the progression of gliomas. This review summarizes the cellular substrates responsible for the coordinated interactions between the nervous and vascular systems and how this relates to gliomagenesis.