The Urokinase Receptor Induces a Mesenchymal Gene Expression Signature in Glioblastoma Cells and Promotes Tumor Cell Survival in Neurospheres.

ABSTRACT: PLAUR encodes the urokinase receptor (uPAR), which promotes cell survival, migration, and resistance to targeted cancer therapeutics in glioblastoma cells in culture and in mouse model systems. Herein, we show that patient survival correlates inversely with PLAUR mRNA expression in gliomas of all grades, in glioblastomas, and in the subset of glioblastomas that demonstrate the mesenchymal gene expression signature. PLAUR clusters with genes that define the more aggressive mesenchymal subtype in transcriptome profiles of glioblastoma tissue and glioblastoma cells in neurospheres, which are enriched for multipotent cells with stem cell-like qualities. When PLAUR was over-expressed or silenced in glioblastoma cells, neurosphere growth and expression of mesenchymal subtype biomarkers correlate

SUBMITTER: Gilder AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5813209 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature