Pediatric adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) cyst may be associated with injury to critical neurological structures, such as the hypothalamus, resulting in poor quality of life and shorter lifespan. This work presents evidence that immune actors, both pro-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, and their receptors, are present at unique levels in ACP cyst fluid and tumor tissue, potentially indicating a mechanism underlying cyst growth and tumor invasion of the hypothalamus.
No associated publication
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesInflammatory response has been identified as a molecular signature of high-risk Group A ependymoma (EPN). To better understand the biology of this phenotype and aid therapeutic development, transcriptomic data from Group A and B EPN patient tumor samples, and additional malignant and normal brain data, were analyzed to identify the mechanism underlying EPN group A inflammation.
Interleukin-6/STAT3 Pathway Signaling Drives an Inflammatory Phenotype in Group A Ependymoma.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesThe characteristics of immune cells infiltrating pediatric brain tumors is largely unexplored. A better understanding of these characteristics will provide a foundation for development of immunotherapy for pediatric brain tumors.
Characterization of distinct immunophenotypes across pediatric brain tumor types.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesIntroduction: Pediatric adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) is a histologically benign but clinically aggressive brain tumor that arises from the sellar/suprasellar region. Despite a high survival rate with current surgical and radiation therapy (75-95% at 10 years), ACP is associated with debilitating visual, endocrine, neurocognitive and psychological morbidity, resulting in exceptionally poor quality of life for survivors. Identification of an effective pharmacological therapy would drastically decrease morbidity and improve long term outcomes for children with ACP.
Identification of targets for rational pharmacological therapy in childhood craniopharyngioma.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesIntroduction: Ependymoma (EPN) studies have revealed certain genetic markers, such as gain of chromosome 1q (1q+), as indicators of poor survival and high rate of recurrence. Development of novel therapeutics for EPN has been hampered by a lack of in vivo and in vivo models. We describe two unique 1q+ cell lines (811 and 928) derived from two children with metastatic, recurrent EPN. Both cell lines were characterized using histological, karyotypic and transcriptomic methods
No associated publication
Specimen part
View SamplesSurvival in the majority of high grade astrocytoma (HGA) patients is very poor, with only a rare population of long-term survivors. A better understanding of the biological factors associated with long-term survival in HGA would aid development of more effective therapy and prognostication.
Increased immune gene expression and immune cell infiltration in high-grade astrocytoma distinguish long-term from short-term survivors.
Specimen part
View SamplesDisruption of peripheral circadian rhyme pathways dominantly leads to metabolic disorders. Studies on circadian rhythm proteins in the heart indicated a role for Clock or Per2 in cardiac metabolism. In fact, Per2-/- mice have larger infarct sizes with a deficient lactate production during myocardial ischemia. To test the hypothesis that cardiac Per2 represents an important regulator of cardiac metabolism during myocardial ischemia, we performed lactate measurements during reperfusion in Per1-/-, Per2-/- or wildtype mice followed by gene array studies using various ischemia-reperfusion protocols comparing wildtype and Per2-/- mice. Lactate measurements in whole blood confirmed a dominant role of Per2 for lactate production during myocardial ischemia. Surprisingly, high-throughput gene array analysis of eight different conditions on one 24-microarray plate revealed dominantly lipid metabolism as differentially regulated pathway in wildtype mice when compared to Per2-/-. In all treatment groups, the enzyme enoyl-CoA hydratase, which is essential in fatty acid beta-oxidation, was regulated in wildtype animals only. Studies using nuclear magnet resonance imaging (NMRI) confirmed altered fatty acid populations with higher mono-unsaturated fatty acid levels in hearts from Per2-/- mice. Unexpectedly, studies on gene regulation during reperfusion revealed solely pro inflammatory genes as differentially regulated 'Per2-genes'. Subsequent studies on inflammatory markers showed increasing IL6 or TNFa levels during reperfusion in Per2-/- mice. In summary, these studies reveal a novel role of cardiac Per2 for fatty acid metabolism or inflammation during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.
Cardiac Per2 functions as novel link between fatty acid metabolism and myocardial inflammation during ischemia and reperfusion injury of the heart.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesGonadotrope or null cell pituitary tumors present clinically with signs of hypogonadism and hypopituitarism, together with visual disturbances due to mass effects. Since there are no medical therapies, surgery and/or radiation are the only therapeutic options. To identify dysregulated genes and/or pathways that may play a role in tumorigenesis and/ or progression, molecular profiling was performed on 14 gonadotrope tumors and 9 normal human pituitaries from autopsy samples. Principle component analysis (PCA) revealed clear discrimination between tumor and normal pituitary gene expression profiles. Bioinformatic analysis identified specific genes and pathways that were highly differentially regulated, including a cohort of putative downstream effectors of p53 were repressed in gonadotrope pituitary tumors, including GADD45, GADD45 and Reprimo with concomitant downregulation of the upstream regulator, PLAGL1. PLAGL1 reexpression in gonadotrope cells did not directly modulate the downstream targets. Further functional analysis of GADD45 was performed. Overexpression of GADD45 in mouse gonadotrope cells blocked proliferation, increased rates of apoptosis in response to growth factor withdrawal and increased colony formation in soft agar. In contrast to prior studies with GADD45, methylation interference assays showed no evidence of epigenetic modification of the GADD45 promoter in pituitary tumors. Thus, our data suggest that many components downstream of p53 are suppressed in gonadotrope pituitary tumors. A novel candidate, GADD45 is low in tumors and reexpression blocks proliferation, survival and tumorigenesis in gonadotrope cells. Unlike GADD45, GADD45 is not methylated to block its expression. Together these studies identify new targets and mechanisms to explore concerning pituitary tumor initiation and progression.
Identification of growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible gene beta (GADD45beta) as a novel tumor suppressor in pituitary gonadotrope tumors.
Sex
View SamplesEpendymoma, the 3rd most common brain tumor in children, recurs in approximately 50% of patients. There is currently no robust marker that predicts for recurrence, which is a significant clinical problem
Immune gene and cell enrichment is associated with a good prognosis in ependymoma.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Constitutive expression of microRNA-150 in mammary epithelium suppresses secretory activation and impairs de novo lipogenesis.
Sex, Specimen part, Subject
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