Metabolic Differences in Different Regions of Glioma Samples

Gliomas are a heterogeneous disease both under a clinical and a pathological point of view. The differential expression of genotypic and metabolic alterations presents a regional distribution within the tumor mass. Even the coexistence of different subpopulations of cancer cells, differing in their sensitivity to apoptosis, autophagy and chemotherapy, has been proved in gliomas. Metabolic alterations are important since they confer adaptive, proliferative, and survival advantages on glioma cells. Thereby, metabolic reprogramming provides substrates for biosynthetic pathway, induces apoptosis resistance. The heterogeneous distribution of oxygen within the tumor determines metabolic differences between regions. Glioma cells located at the periphery of the tumor have higher proliferative capacity, which is accompanied by a greater respiration and mitochondrial oxidative capacity compared to cells located at the center of the tumor; such differences could be related to differential degree of hypoxia or oxidative stress between regions of the tumor. Regional differences within glioma have diagnostic and therapeutic implications, and hinder the prediction of the tumor’s biologic aggressiveness and the patient’s response to standard treatment.