Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Understanding Signaling Pathways in Brain Tumors
Disease Discoveries

Understanding Signaling Pathways in Brain Tumors

By Sarah PlumridgeOct 7, 2016
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD, professor of Neurology, studies the role of microRNAs in proneural and mesenchymal brain tumor subtypes.
Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD, professor of Neurology, studies the role of microRNAs in proneural and mesenchymal brain tumor subtypes.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have shown how a signaling pathway and genetic material work together in regulating the behavior of two subtypes of brain tumors called glioblastomas in a recent paper published in Nature Communications.

Northwestern Medicine scientists identified the circuit, composed of a signaling pathway and two microRNAs, and demonstrated that it regulates the behaviors of different subtypes of glioblastomas, a common and deadly brain tumor.

Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD, professor of Neurology in the Division of Neuro-Oncology and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, profiled proneural and mesenchymal glioblastoma subtypes and studied the role of microRNAs, small molecules that are important in regulating gene expression, and their involvement in the tumors’ growth and response to therapy.

“To use microRNAs as a therapeutic agent, we really need to understand how microRNAs regulate the phenotypes of glioblastomas,” Cheng said.

Cheng and his team reported that two microRNAs are key modulators of the Wnt signaling pathway, responsible for regulating tumor subtype-specific behaviors of glioblastomas, and that these two microRNAs are active in the proneural subtype but inactive in mesenchymal tumors.

They also found the high levels of these two microRNAs in proneural tumors target a known Wnt inhibitor FZD6, which further enhances the activity of Wnt signaling that is active in proneural but inactive in mesenchymal glioblastomas.

In mesenchymal tumors, they found high levels of FZD6 reduced Wnt signaling and decreased levels of the two microRNAs. They also observed FZD6-stimualtion of two other regulatory circuits that regulate the characteristics and behavior of mesenchymal tumors.

“This data shows that RNA signatures can be used to classify glioblastomas similar to subtyping by genetic expression,” Cheng said. “Our findings could lead to the development of more effective therapies for patients.”

The study performed in Cheng’s laboratory was supported by National Institutes of Health grants NS093843, NS095634, CA158911 and CA158911-S, T32CA070085, a Brain Cancer Research Award from James S. McDonnell Foundation, and support from Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute at Northwestern University. Other co-authors were supported by grants from NIH and other funding agencies.

Cancer Neurology and Neuroscience Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Combination Treatment May Improve Quality of Life in Kidney Cancer

Jun 23, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Combination Treatment May Improve Quality of Life in Kidney Cancer

Jun 23, 2022

Calcium Channel Blockers May Improve Chemotherapy Response

Jun 21, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
pride7
pride6
pride5
pride4
pride3
pride2
pride1
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0070
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0066
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0054
Northwestern University 2022. Photo by Jim Prisching
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0077

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.