Background: Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor. Primary Glioblastoma (PriGO) cells are key drivers of glioblastoma. Senescence is the irreversible growth arrest of cells with continued metabolic activity. Recently, I discovered PriGO cells undergo premature senescence in response to Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). Determining the underlying molecular mechanisms may allow development of novel therapeutic strategies to decrease the malignant potential of glioblastoma. Methods: Global gene expression changes in PriGO cells treated with serum were analyzed and compared to untreated cells. Senescence was determined by the Senescence-Associated-Beta-Galactosidase (SA-B-Gal) assay. Results: PriGO cells treated with serum demonstrated increased expression of genes in the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-B) pathway, such as Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), compared to untreated cells. TGF-B treatment of PriGO cells significantly increased senescence compared to untreated cells. Treatment of PriGO cells with serum and the TGF-B inhibitor SB431542 led to a decrease in senescence compared to serum only treated cells. Treatment of PriGO cells with serum and the TSP1 inhibitor LSKL led to a reduction in senescence compared to serum only treated cells. Conclusions: Our data identifies TGF-B as an important component of serum responsible for inducing senescence in PriGO cells. Furthermore, TGF-B induced senescence in PriGO cells is in part mediated by TSP1.