Effects of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Astrocytes on Cisplatin Sensitivity in Pediatric Brain Cancer Cells

Background: ATRTs and DIPGs are deadly pediatric brain tumors with poor prognosis. These tumors can develop resistance to chemotherapies, which may be significantly influenced by their microenvironment. Since astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell type in the brain microenvironment and may support tumor growth and chemoresistance, this study investigated the effects of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes (iPSC-astrocytes) on cisplatin sensitivity in CHLA-05-ATRT and SF8628 (DIPG) cells. iPSCs provide an unlimited and standardized source of nascent astrocytes, which enables modeling the interaction between childhood brain tumor cells and iPSC-astrocytes within a controlled coculture system. Methods: To study the effects on tumor growth, the iPSC-astrocytes were cocultured with tumor cells. Additionally, the tumor cells were exposed to various concentrations of cisplatin to evaluate their chemosensitivity in the presence of astrocytes. Results: The paracrine interaction of iPSC-astrocytes with tumor cells upregulated astrocyte activation markers GFAP and STAT3 and promoted tumor cell proliferation. Moreover, the cisplatin treatment significantly decreased the viability of CHLA-05-ATRT and SF8628 cells. However, tumor cells exhibited reduced sensitivity to cisplatin in the coculture with iPSC-astrocytes. During cisplatin treatment, DIPG cells in particular showed upregulation of resistance markers, ERK1, STAT3, and MTDH, which are associated with enhanced proliferation and invasion. They also had increased expression of APEX1, which is involved in the base excision repair pathway following cisplatin-induced DNA damage. Conclusion: These findings underscore the significance of the tumor microenvironment in modulating tumor cell survival and chemosensitivity.