r. Holland and colleagues discovered that the timing of PDGF expression can determine which characteristics a particular glioma displays. Dr. Holland found that excess PDGF expression in mature astrocytes may generate gliomas by dedifferentiating the astrocytes into glial progenitor-like cells. Further experiments showed that the severity of the gliomas in both strains of mice could be increased by the loss of an important cell cycle arrest gene. Dr. Holland and colleagues conclude that some low grade gliomas are made up of proliferating glial progenitor cells that are somehow blocked in their ability to differentiate. Meanwhile, high grade malignant gliomas are likely to have acquired additional mutations in genes important in regulating the cell cycle.

Identifying pathways that lead to gliomas is a key step towards the design of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these tumors. The fact that the low grade gliomas in these mice consisted of undifferentiated glial progenitor-like cells suggests that these types of tumor may respond well to drugs that promote glial cell differentiation. These mice provide an excellent model for testing such drugs and offer hope for a new generation of glioma therapies.

'"/>

Contact: Nora Poppito
poppito@cshl.org
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
31-Jul-2001

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Brain has center for detecting sound motion
2. Brains reward circuitry revealed in procrastinating primates
3. Brain serotonin enzyme finding might explain psychiatric disorders
4. Brain development and puberty may be key factors in learning disorders
5. Organization for Human Brain Mapping 2004 Annual Meeting
6. Brain disease research, particle physics meet in the middle (ware)
7. Brain control
8. Brain cells become more discriminating when they work together
9. Brain signal predicts working memory prowess
10. Brain areas identified that decode emotions of others
11. Brain Centre gives Wales a world lead