Stem cell characteristics in glioblastoma are maintained by the ecto-nucleotidase E-NPP1.

ABSTRACT: Glioblastomas are highly aggressive brain tumours and are characterised by substantial cellular heterogeneity within a single tumour. A sub-population of glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) that shares properties with neural precursor cells has been described, exhibiting resistance to therapy and therefore being considered responsible for the high recurrence rate in glioblastoma. To elucidate the underlying cellular processes we investigated the role of phosphatases in the GSC phenotype, using an in vitro phosphatome-wide RNA interference screen. We identified a set of genes, the knockdown of which induces a significant decrease in the glioma stem cell marker CD133, indicating a role in the glioblastoma stem-like phenotype. Among these genes, the ecto-nucleotidase ENPP1 (ectonucleotide pyr

SUBMITTER: Bageritz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4013511 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature