Project description:Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) possesses glioma stem cells (GSCs) that promote self-renewal, tumor propagation, and relapse. Understanding the mechanisms of GSCs self-renewal can offer targeted therapeutic interventions. However, insufficient knowledge of the fundamental biology of GSCs is a significant bottleneck hindering these efforts. Here, we show that patient-derived GSCs recruit an elevated level of proteins that ensure the temporal cilium disassembly, leading to suppressed ciliogenesis. Depleting the cilia disassembly complex components at the ciliary base is sufficient to induce ciliogenesis in a subset of GSCs via sequestering PDGFR-α from its original location to newly induced cilium. Importantly, restoring ciliogenesis caused GSCs to behave like healthy NPCs switching from self-renewal to differentiation. Finally, using an organoid-based glioma invasion assay and brain xenografts in mice, we establish that ciliogenesis-induced differentiation can prevent the infiltration of GSCs into the brain. Our findings illustrate a crucial role for cilium as a molecular switch in determining GSCs' fate and suggest that cilium induction is an attractive strategy to intervene in GSCs proliferation.
Project description:Glioma initiating/stem cells (GIC/GSC) are considered responsible for the therapeutic resistance and recurrence of malignant glioma. To clarify the molecular mechanism of GIC/GSC maintenance/differentiation, we established GIC/GSC clones, having the potential to differentiate into malignant gliomas, from glioblastoma patient’s tissues, and subjected to DNA microarray/iTRAQ based integrated proteomics. 21,857 mRNAs and 8,471 proteins were identified and integrated into a gene/protein expression analysis chart (iPEACH). The data integration and extraction of global proteins and mRNAs revealed that, during the GIC/GSC differentiation, cell adhesion molecules including integrin aV/ECMs and RAS-MAPK/PI3K signalings were significantly up-regulated, meanwhile, SOX2, CD133, and specific proteoglycans/synthetic-enzymes/metabolic pathways were obviously down-regulated. Among them, we focused proteoglycans and their synthetic-enzymes. GIC/GSC differentiation was significantly associated with the decrease of CSPG (CS-modified form) and dramatically induced by the CS-degradation enzyme which also induces the up-regulation of ERK-AKT signaling and GFAP without any other agents. Importantly, these differentiation processes were also associated with the interaction of CSPG (CS-unmodified form) and integrin-aV, and suppressed by integrin-inhibitors/CS administrations significantly. Combination treatments of a cancer-drug Temozolomide and these GIC/GSC-differentiation inhibitors suppressed glioma progression, increased the chemosensitivities, and led the longer survival of mouse xenograft-models. Functional integrated proteomics for the first time demonstrates that the GIC/GSC induces the specific proteoglycans to regulate GIC/GSC stemness/differentiation via the integlin signalings which may be a clinical target against malignant gliomas.
Project description:Glioma initiating/stem cells (GIC/GSC) are considered responsible for the therapeutic resistance and recurrence of malignant glioma. To clarify the molecular mechanism of GIC/GSC maintenance/differentiation, we established GIC/GSC clones, having the potential to differentiate into malignant gliomas, from glioblastoma patient’s tissues, and subjected to DNA microarray/iTRAQ based integrated proteomics. 21,857 mRNAs and 8,471 proteins were identified and integrated into a gene/protein expression analysis chart (iPEACH). The data integration and extraction of global proteins and mRNAs revealed that, during the GIC/GSC differentiation, cell adhesion molecules including integrin aV/ECMs and RAS-MAPK/PI3K signalings were significantly up-regulated, meanwhile, SOX2, CD133, and specific proteoglycans/synthetic-enzymes/metabolic pathways were obviously down-regulated. Among them, we focused proteoglycans and their synthetic-enzymes. GIC/GSC differentiation was significantly associated with the decrease of CSPG (CS-modified form) and dramatically induced by the CS-degradation enzyme which also induces the up-regulation of ERK-AKT signaling and GFAP without any other agents. Importantly, these differentiation processes were also associated with the interaction of CSPG (CS-unmodified form) and integrin-aV, and suppressed by integrin-inhibitors/CS administrations significantly. Combination treatments of a cancer-drug Temozolomide and these GIC/GSC-differentiation inhibitors suppressed glioma progression, increased the chemosensitivities, and led the longer survival of mouse xenograft-models. Functional integrated proteomics for the first time demonstrates that the GIC/GSC induces the specific proteoglycans to regulate GIC/GSC stemness/differentiation via the integlin signalings which may be a clinical target against malignant gliomas.
Project description:Glioma initiating cells (GICs) are considered responsible for the therapeutic resistance and recurrence of malignant glioma. To clarify the molecular mechanism of GIC maintenance/differentiation, we established GIC clones from GBM patient tumors having the potential to differentiate into malignant gliomas in mouse intracranial xenograft, and established an in vitro glioma induction system by using serum stimulation. Upon the serum stimulation, the GIC spheres showed increased cellular proliferation, motility, filopodia/lameripodia formation and adhesion to the culture dishes. Simultaneously, the NSC marker proteins such as CD133 and Sox2 were down-regulated, and the astrocyte/glioma marker GFAP and the malignancy marker CD44 dramatically up-regulated. To identify genes/proteins whose expression changes dynamically during the differentiation of GICs into glioma cells, these GICs were subjected to DNA microarray/iTRAQ based integrated proteomics.
Project description:Glioma initiating cells (GICs) are considered responsible for the therapeutic resistance and recurrence of malignant glioma. To clarify the molecular mechanism of GIC maintenance/differentiation, we established GIC clones from GBM patient tumors having the potential to differentiate into malignant gliomas in mouse intracranial xenograft, and established an in vitro glioma induction system by using serum stimulation. Upon the serum stimulation, the GIC spheres showed increased cellular proliferation, motility, filopodia/lameripodia formation and adhesion to the culture dishes. Simultaneously, the NSC marker proteins such as CD133 and Sox2 were down-regulated, and the astrocyte/glioma marker GFAP and the malignancy marker CD44 dramatically up-regulated. To identify genes/proteins whose expression changes dynamically during the differentiation of GICs into glioma cells, these GICs were subjected to DNA microarray/iTRAQ based integrated proteomics. Within 4 hours of tumor removal from GBM patients, tissues were subjected to GIC preparation. After successive cloning, total RNA from GIC clones (GIC03A and GIC03U) on day 2 or 7 of subculture in NSC medium with or without 10% FCS was subjected to the analysis with Affymetrix microarrays. Simultaneously, the proteins extracted from the same set of cells were subjected to LC-shot gun analyses using the 8-plex iTRAQ method. We sought to obtain the information of the common molecules that were up- or down-regulated during the GSC differentiation process, and functional targets for the early onset of GIC-associated glioma.
Project description:A hallmark feature of glioblastoma (GBM) cells is its strong self-renewal potential and immature differentiation state -- stem cell-like properties which may contribute to the plasticity and intense therapeutic resistance of GBM. The molecular basis of the immature differentiation profile remains an area of active investigation. Here, integrated genomic and biological analyses identified PLAGL2 as a potent proto-oncogene targeted for amplification/gain in malignant gliomas as well as in colorectal cancers. High level of PLAGL2 expression strongly suppresses neural stem cell (NSC) and glioma-initiating cell (GIC) differentiation while promoting their proliferation and self-renewal capacity under differentiation induction conditions. On the mechanistic level, the PLAGL2 transcriptome analysis revealed that these differentiation suppressive activities are attributable in part to PLAGL2 modulation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling via up-regulation of Wnt6 ligand as well as Fzd9 and Fzd2 receptor expression. Correspondingly, inhibition of Wnt signaling in PLAGL2-expressing NSC partially restores their differentiation capacity. The identification of PLAGL2 as a glioma oncogene highlights the importance of a growing class of cancer genes functioning to impart stem cell-like characteristics on malignant cells. p53-null mouse NSCs are infected with retrovirus expressing either control vector or PlagL2. Total RNA were collected upon differentiation in 1% FBS for 24 hr. 3 replicates each.
Project description:A hallmark feature of glioblastoma (GBM) cells is its strong self-renewal potential and immature differentiation state -- stem cell-like properties which may contribute to the plasticity and intense therapeutic resistance of GBM. The molecular basis of the immature differentiation profile remains an area of active investigation. Here, integrated genomic and biological analyses identified PLAGL2 as a potent proto-oncogene targeted for amplification/gain in malignant gliomas as well as in colorectal cancers. High level of PLAGL2 expression strongly suppresses neural stem cell (NSC) and glioma-initiating cell (GIC) differentiation while promoting their proliferation and self-renewal capacity under differentiation induction conditions. On the mechanistic level, the PLAGL2 transcriptome analysis revealed that these differentiation suppressive activities are attributable in part to PLAGL2 modulation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling via up-regulation of Wnt6 ligand as well as Fzd9 and Fzd2 receptor expression. Correspondingly, inhibition of Wnt signaling in PLAGL2-expressing NSC partially restores their differentiation capacity. The identification of PLAGL2 as a glioma oncogene highlights the importance of a growing class of cancer genes functioning to impart stem cell-like characteristics on malignant cells.
Project description:Accumulating evidence suggests that glioma stem cells (GSCs), rare cells characterised by pluripotency and self-renewal, are responsible for glioblastoma (GBM) propagation, recurrence and resistance to therapy. Differentiation with bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) is considered to be a promising approach to eliminate GSCs and sensitise glioma to chemotherapeutics. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene alterations are detected in more than a half of GBMs, however, the role of EGFR in chemoresistance of glioma stem cells remain elusive. Here, we investigated whether EGFR signalling affects BMP4-induced differentiation of GSCs and their response to an alkylating drug temozolomide (TMZ). We show that BMP4 triggers Smad signalling cascade in glioma stem cells independently of the EGFR level. BMP4 down-regulated levels of pluripotency markers (SOX2 and OLIG2) with the concomitant induction of astrocytic (GFAP) and neuronal (b-Tubulin III) markers. However, significant differences in chemotherapy outcomes were observed in glioma stem cells with different EGFR levels. BMP4-induced differentiation did not enhance sensitivity to TMZ in EGFRlow GSCs, in contrast to EGFRhigh GSCs, which were undergoing apoptosis. We identified differences in cell cycle regulation by analyses of cell cycle phase distribution and cell-cycle-related proteins. In cells with lower EGFR expression BMP4 triggered the G1 cell cycle arrest, not detected in EGFRhigh cells. RNA-seq profiles further highlighted transcriptomic alternations and distinct processes characterizing EGFR-dependent responses in course of BMP4-induced differentiation. We identified AKT/FOXO3a axis controlling of BIM (the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein) as operating only in EGFRhigh BMP4-differentiated and TMZ-treated cells.
Project description:SUMMARY Terminal differentiation has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma (GBM). Culturing of GBM derived tumor initiating glioma stem cells (GSCs) in fetal bovine serum containing media is a proposed mode of differentiation that is thought to induce loss of stem cell characteristics, promote neural lineage differentiation and a parallel loss of tumor initiation capacity. Here we show that GSCs retained both neurosphere formation and tumor initiation abilities after short or long term serum exposure. Under serum induced differentiating conditions, GSCs expressed both neural lineage and stem cell markers, highlighting the aberrant pseudo-differentiation state. GSCs maintained under adherent differentiating conditions continued to proliferate and initiate tumor formation with efficiencies similar to GSCs maintained under proliferating (neurosphere) conditions. Proneural (PN) GSCs under serum exposure showed an induction of mesenchymal (MES) gene expression signatures. Our data indicate that the tumor initiation ability of GSCs is independent of their differentiation state and that terminal differentiation as a therapeutic approach may not effectively negate tumorigenicity of GSCs. SIGNIFICANCE Terminal differentiation has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma (GBM). Culturing of GBM derived tumor initiating glioma stem cells (GSCs) in fetal bovine serum containing media is a proposed mode of differentiation that is thought to induce loss of stem cell characteristics, promote neural lineage differentiation and a parallel loss of tumor initiation capacity. Here we show that GSCs retained both neurosphere formation and tumor initiation abilities after short or long term serum exposure. Under serum induced differentiating conditions, GSCs expressed both neural lineage and stem cell markers, highlighting the aberrant pseudo-differentiation state. GSCs maintained under adherent differentiating conditions continued to proliferate and initiate tumor formation with efficiencies similar to GSCs maintained under proliferating (neurosphere) conditions. Proneural (PN) GSCs under serum exposure showed an induction of mesenchymal (MES) gene expression signatures. Our data indicate that the tumor initiation ability of GSCs is independent of their differentiation state and that terminal differentiation as a therapeutic approach may not effectively negate tumorigenicity of GSCs.
Project description:SUMMARY Terminal differentiation has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma (GBM). Culturing of GBM derived tumor initiating glioma stem cells (GSCs) in fetal bovine serum containing media is a proposed mode of differentiation that is thought to induce loss of stem cell characteristics, promote neural lineage differentiation and a parallel loss of tumor initiation capacity. Here we show that GSCs retained both neurosphere formation and tumor initiation abilities after short or long term serum exposure. Under serum induced differentiating conditions, GSCs expressed both neural lineage and stem cell markers, highlighting the aberrant pseudo-differentiation state. GSCs maintained under adherent differentiating conditions continued to proliferate and initiate tumor formation with efficiencies similar to GSCs maintained under proliferating (neurosphere) conditions. Proneural (PN) GSCs under serum exposure showed an induction of mesenchymal (MES) gene expression signatures. Our data indicate that the tumor initiation ability of GSCs is independent of their differentiation state and that terminal differentiation as a therapeutic approach may not effectively negate tumorigenicity of GSCs. SIGNIFICANCE Terminal differentiation has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma (GBM). Culturing of GBM derived tumor initiating glioma stem cells (GSCs) in fetal bovine serum containing media is a proposed mode of differentiation that is thought to induce loss of stem cell characteristics, promote neural lineage differentiation and a parallel loss of tumor initiation capacity. Here we show that GSCs retained both neurosphere formation and tumor initiation abilities after short or long term serum exposure. Under serum induced differentiating conditions, GSCs expressed both neural lineage and stem cell markers, highlighting the aberrant pseudo-differentiation state. GSCs maintained under adherent differentiating conditions continued to proliferate and initiate tumor formation with efficiencies similar to GSCs maintained under proliferating (neurosphere) conditions. Proneural (PN) GSCs under serum exposure showed an induction of mesenchymal (MES) gene expression signatures. Our data indicate that the tumor initiation ability of GSCs is independent of their differentiation state and that terminal differentiation as a therapeutic approach may not effectively negate tumorigenicity of GSCs.