Akt and c-Myc induce stem-cell markers in mature primary p53⁻/⁻ astrocytes and render these cells gliomagenic in the brain of immunocompetent mice.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytomas and their most malignant variant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represent the vast majority of primary brain tumors. Despite the current progress in neurosurgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, most astrocytomas remain fatal disorders. Although brain tumor biology is a matter of intense research, the cell-of-origin and the complete astrocytoma-inducing signaling pathway remain unknown. To further identify the mechanisms leading to gliomagenesis, we transduced primary astrocytes on a p53(-/-) background with c-Myc, constitutively active myr-Akt or both, myr-Akt and c-Myc. Transduced astrocytes showed oncogene-specific alterations of morphology, proliferation and differentiation. Following prolonged periods of cultivation, oncogene-transduced astrocytes expressed several ste

SUBMITTER: Radke J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3570527 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature