Carolin Kitzberger1, Martin Grashei2, Katja Steiger3, Rim S J Sarker 3, Rainer Glaß4, Wolfgang Weber2, Peter J Nelson1, Franz Schilling2, Christine Spitzweg1,5
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a tumor with a poor prognosis and an urgent need for novel therapy approaches1. As a theranostic gene, the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) can be used for noninvasive radioiodine-based molecular imaging and therapy using distinct gene transfer systems e.g. mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)2. Based on their intrinsic tumor homing capacity MSC can be utilized as “Trojan horse” for the delivery of NIS to target the tumor milieu3. In this study, engineered MSC with a tumor-selective hypoxia-induced activation of NIS expression were investigated for a new hypoxia-guided GBM therapy.