The developmental origin of brain tumours: a cellular and molecular framework.
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Azzarelli, Roberta https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8160-7538
Simons, Benjamin D
Philpott, Anna https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3789-2463
Abstract
The development of the nervous system relies on the coordinated regulation of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. The discovery that brain tumours contain a subpopulation of cells with stem/progenitor characteristics that are capable of sustaining tumour growth has emphasized the importance of understanding the cellular dynamics and the molecular pathways regulating neural stem cell behaviour. By focusing on recent work on glioma and medulloblastoma, we review how lineage tracing contributed to dissecting the embryonic origin of brain tumours and how lineage-specific mechanisms that regulate stem cell behaviour in the embryo may be subverted in cancer to achieve uncontrolled proliferation and suppression of differentiation.
Description
Keywords
Brain, Brain Neoplasms, Cell Differentiation, Cell Proliferation, Cell Self Renewal, Cell Transformation, Neoplastic, Glioma, Humans, Medulloblastoma, Neoplastic Stem Cells, Neural Stem Cells, Signal Transduction
Journal Title
Development
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0950-1991
1477-9129
1477-9129
Volume Title
145
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Publisher DOI
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (098357/Z/12/Z)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12009)
Medical Research Council (MR/K018329/1)
Medical Research Council (MR/L021129/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_12009)
Medical Research Council (MR/K018329/1)
Medical Research Council (MR/L021129/1)
This work was funded by MRC Research Grants (MR/K018329/1 (AP/RA), MR/L021129/1 (AP)
and Neuroblastoma UK (AP), a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award (098357/Z/12/Z
(BDS/RA) and received core support from Wellcome Trust and MRC Cambridge Stem Cell
Institute and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. We are grateful to members of the
Philpott and Simons labs for useful discussions.