RESUMEN
To identify biomarkers for glioma growth, invasion and progression, we used a candidate gene approach in mouse models with two complementary brain tumour phenotypes, developing either slow-growing, diffusely infiltrating gliomas or highly proliferative, non-invasive primitive neural tumours. In a microRNA screen we first identified microRNA-449a as most significantly differentially expressed between these two tumour types. miR-449a has a target dependent effect, inhibiting cell growth and migration by downregulation of CCND1 and suppressing neural phenotypes by inhibition of G protein coupled-receptor (GPR) 158. GPR158 promotes glioma stem cell differentiation and induces apoptosis and is highest expressed in the cerebral cortex and in oligodendrogliomas, lower in IDH mutant astrocytomas and lowest in the most malignant form of glioma, IDH wild-type glioblastoma. The correlation of GPR158 expression with molecular subtypes, patient survival and therapy response suggests a possible role of GPR158 as prognostic biomarker in human gliomas.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias Encefálicas/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patología , Glioma/genética , Glioma/patología , MicroARNs/genética , Receptores Acoplados a Proteínas G/genética , Células Madre/patología , Animales , Apoptosis/genética , Astrocitoma/genética , Astrocitoma/patología , Biomarcadores de Tumor/genética , Diferenciación Celular/genética , Línea Celular Tumoral , Movimiento Celular/genética , Proliferación Celular/genética , Regulación hacia Abajo/genética , Glioblastoma/genética , Glioblastoma/patología , Humanos , Ratones , Oligodendroglioma/genética , Oligodendroglioma/patología , Factores de Transcripción/genéticaRESUMEN
Targeted cell- or region-specific gene recombination is widely used in the functional analysis of genes implicated in development and disease. In the brain, targeted gene recombination has become a mainstream approach to study neurodegeneration or tumorigenesis. The use of the Cre-loxP system to study tumorigenesis in the adult central nervous system (CNS) can be limited, when the promoter (such as GFAP) is also transiently expressed during development, which can result in the recombination of progenies of different lineages. Engineering of transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase fused to a mutant of the human oestrogen receptor (ER) allows the circumvention of transient developmental Cre expression by inducing recombination in the adult organism. The recombination of loxP sequences occurs only in the presence of tamoxifen. Systemic administration of tamoxifen can, however, exhibit toxicity and might also recombine unwanted cell populations if the promoter driving Cre expression is active at the time of tamoxifen administration. Here, we report that a single site-specific injection of an active derivative of tamoxifen successfully activates Cre recombinase and selectively recombines tumour suppressor genes in neural progenitor cells of the subventricular zone in mice, and we demonstrate its application in a model for the generation of intrinsic brain tumours.