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Selinexor is a first-in-class inhibitor of the nuclear exportin XPO1 that was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), selinexor has shown promising activity, suggesting that selinexor-based combination therapies may have clinical potential. Here, motivated by the hypothesis that selinexor's nuclear sequestration of diverse substrates imposes pleiotropic fitness effects on AML cells, we systematically catalog the pro- and anti-fitness consequences of selinexor treatment. We discover that selinexor activates PI3Kγ-dependent AKT signaling in AML by upregulating the purinergic receptor P2RY2. Inhibiting this axis potentiates the anti-leukemic effects of selinexor in AML cell lines, patient-derived primary cultures and multiple mouse models of AML. In a syngeneic, MLL-AF9-driven mouse model of AML, treatment with selinexor and ipatasertib outperforms both standard-of-care chemotherapy and chemotherapy with selinexor. Together, these findings establish drug-induced P2RY2-AKT signaling as an actionable consequence of XPO1 inhibition in AML.

For decades, cell biologists and cancer researchers have taken advantage of non-murine species to increase our understanding of the molecular processes that drive normal cell and tissue development, and when perturbed, cause cancer. The advent of whole-genome sequencing has revealed the high genetic homology of these organisms to humans. Seminal studies in non-murine organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Danio rerio identified many of the signaling pathways involved in cancer. Studies in these organisms offer distinct advantages over mammalian cell or murine systems. Compared to murine models, these three species have shorter lifespans, are less resource intense, and are amenable to high-throughput drug and RNA interference screening to test a myriad of promising drugs against novel targets. In this review, we introduce species-specific breeding strategies, highlight the advantages of modeling brain tumors in each non-mammalian species, and underscore the successes attributed to scientific investigation using these models. We conclude with an optimistic proposal that discoveries in the fields of cancer research, and in particular neuro-oncology, may be expedited using these powerful screening tools and strategies.

Patient-derived xenografts retain the genotype of the parent tumors more readily than tumor cells maintained in culture. The two previously reported clival chordoma xenografts were derived from recurrent tumors after radiation. To study the genetics of clival chordoma in the absence of prior radiation exposure we established a patient-derived xenograft at primary resection of a clival chordoma. Epicranial grafting of clival chordoma collected during surgery was performed. Tumor growth was established in a nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mouse and tumors have been passaged serially for seven generations. Physaliferous cell architecture was shown in the regenerated tumors, which stained positive for Brachyury, cytokeratin, and S100 protein. The tumors showed bone invasion. Single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis of the tumor xenograft was compared with the parental tumor. Copy number gain of the T gene (brachyury) and heterozygous loss of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) was observed. Heterozygous loss of the tumor-suppressor fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene also was observed, although protein expression was preserved. Accumulation of copy number losses and gains as well as increased growth rate was observed over three generations. The patient-derived xenograft reproduces the phenotype of clival chordoma. This model can be used in the future to study chordoma biology and to assess novel treatments.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, with a median survival of just over one year. The failure of available treatments to achieve remission in patients with GBM has been attributed to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are thought to play a central role in tumor development and progression and serve as a treatment-resistant cell repository capable of driving tumor recurrence; in fact, the property of “stemness” itself may be responsible for treatment resistance. In this study, we identify a novel lncRNA, Cancer stem cell associated distal enhancer of SOX2 (CASCADES) that functions as an epigenetic regulator in glioma CSCs (GSCs). CASCADES is expressed in IDH-wild type GBM and significantly enriched in GSCs. Knockdown of CASCADES in GSCs results in differentiation towards a neuronal lineage in a cell- and cancer-specific manner. Bioinformatics analysis reveals that CASCADES functions as a super-enhancer associated lncRNA epigenetic regulator of SOX2. Our findings identify CASCADES as a critical regulator of stemness in GSCs and represent a novel epigenetic and therapeutic target for disrupting the cancer stem cell compartment in GBM.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a surgically unresectable and devasting tumour in children. To date, there are no effective chemotherapeutics despite a myriad of clinical trials. The intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) is likely responsible for the limited clinical response to chemotherapy. MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a promising non-invasive method for treating CNS tumours. Moreover, MRgFUS allows for the temporary and repeated disruption of the BBB. Our group previously reported the feasibility of temporary BBB opening within the normal murine brainstem using MRgFUS following intravenous (IV) administration of microbubbles. In the current study, we set out to test the effectiveness of targeted chemotherapy when paired with MRgFUS in murine models of DIPG. Doxorubicin was selected from a drug screen consisting of conventional chemotherapeutics tested on patient-derived cell lines. We studied the RCAS/Tv-a model where RCAS-Cre, RCAS-PDGFB, and RCAS-H3.3K27M were used to drive tumourigenesis upon injection in the pons. We also used orthotopically injected SU-DIPG-6 and SU-DIPG-17 xenografts which demonstrated a diffusely infiltrative tumour growth pattern similar to human DIPG. In our study, SU-DIPG-17 xenografts were more representative of human DIPG with an intact BBB. Following IV administration of doxorubicin, MRgFUS-treated animals exhibited a 4-fold higher concentration of drug within the SU-DIPG-17 brainstem tumours compared to controls. Moreover, the volumetric tumour growth rate was significantly suppressed in MRgFUS-treated animals whose tumours also exhibited decreased Ki-67 expression. Herein, we provide evidence for the ability of MRgFUS to enhance drug delivery in a mouse model of DIPG. These data provide critical support for clinical trials investigating MRgFUS-mediated BBB opening, which may ameliorate DIPG chemotherapeutic approaches in children.

Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumours (ATRT) are highly malignant neoplasms arising primarily in the CNS of children. They are defined by loss of function mutations in smarcb1, a gene serving a vital role in neurogenesis and differentiation. In order to recapitulate ATRT in the mouse, we used a Cre-Lox recombination system to conditionally knockout smarcb1 in specific cell compartments. Loss of smarcb1 in BLBP-expressing cells of the developing brain led to severe neurologic defects. Mice exhibited seizures, ataxia, and median 12-day survival. Histological analysis revealed severe thinning of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Temporally-targeted smarcb1 loss in BLBP/Nestin-expressing embryonic compartments did not result in tumour formation. Similarly, BLBP-expressing, smarcb1-deficient neural stem/progenitor cells (NSC/NPCs) were isolated and allografted but did not form tumours. These cells demonstrated decreased proliferation, higher apoptosis, and upregulation of p53, CDKN1A, and CDKN2A. In contrast, ubiquitous smarcb1 loss at the earlier embryonic day 6.5 produced widespread tumorigenicity in the forebrain, hindbrain, skullbase, and spine; each with unique phenotypes, survival, and morphology. We employed a clinically-relevant Nanostring gene-panel screen to stratify tumours into genetically distinct subgroups. Our findings indicate that smarcb1 plays an important role in CNS development. Loss of smarcb1 in NSC/NPCs is lethal, and its developmental context influences cell fate. Targeted smarcb1 loss likely plays a tumorigenic role at an earlier developmental stage than previously determined, in a diverse array of primitive stem cells. These data support the generation of a murine ATRT model capable of producing distinct tumour entities that recapitulate the human disease.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a surgically unresectable and devasting tumor in children. To date, there have been no effective chemotherapeutics despite a myriad of clinical trials. The intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) in part is responsible for the limited clinical response to chemotherapy. MRI guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a promising non-invasive tissue ablative method for CNS tumors. Moreover, MRgFUS allows for the temporary disruption of BBB. Our first objective was to determine the feasibility and safety of temporary BBB disruption within the brainstem using MRgFUS following intravenous (IV) administration of microbubbles in vivo. Our second objective was to select effective chemotherapeutics against DIPG cell lines, and to examine their therapeutic effects with MRgFUS in a mouse model of DIPG which exhibits an intact BBB. The non-invasive opening of the BBB was determined in the brainstem of normal rodents using physiological monitoring and histological analysis. Doxorubicin was selected from a drug screen consisting of conventional chemotherapeutics using SU-DIPG4 and SU-DIPG17 cell lines. We established SU-DIPG17 xenografts which demonstrated diffusely infiltrative tumor growth similar to human DIPG. By LC-MS/MS analysis, MRgFUS led to a 4-fold increase in doxorubicin concentrations within the brainstem tumors following IV administration when compared to IV administration alone, We demonstrated feasibility and safety of MRgFUS in the rodent brainstem and have shown that MRgFUS increases doxorubicin uptake in the brainstem of a rodent model of DIPG. These preclinical data will be helpful in designing clinical trials of BBB disruption using MRgFUS for DIPG in children.

Proliferating cancer cells are characterized by high rates of glycolysis, lactate production, and altered mitochondrial metabolism. This metabolic reprogramming provides important metabolites for proliferation of tumor cells, including glioblastoma. These biological processes, however, generate oxidative stress that must be balanced through detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using an unbiased retroviral loss-of-function screen in nontransformed human astrocytes, we demonstrate that mitochondrial PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) is a regulator of the Warburg effect and negative regulator of glioblastoma growth. We report that loss of PINK1 contributes to the Warburg effect through ROS-dependent stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1A and reduced pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme 2 activity, both key regulators of aerobic glycolysis. Mechanistically, PINK1 suppresses ROS and tumor growth through FOXO3a, a master regulator of oxidative stress and superoxide dismutase 2. These findings highlight the importance of PINK1 and ROS balance in normal and tumor cells. PINK1 loss was observed in a significant number of human brain tumors including glioblastoma (n > 900) and correlated with poor patient survival. PINK1 overexpression attenuates in vivo glioblastoma growth in orthotopic mouse xenograft models and a transgenic glioblastoma model in Drosophila. Cancer Res; 76(16); 4708–19. ©2016 AACR.

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) retain the genotype of the parental tumors more readily than tumor cells maintained in culture. In order to study the genetics of clival chordoma in the absence of prior radiation we sought to establish a PDX following the primary resection of a clival chordoma. Epicranial grafting of a primary clival chordoma was performed in NOD/SCID mice. Tumors have been passaged serially in mice for 7 generations. Physaliferous cell architecture was demonstrated in the regenerated tumors, which stained positive for Brachyury, Cytokeratin, and S100. The tumors demonstrated bone invasion. Single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis of the tumor xenograft was compared to the parental tumor. We identified homozygous amplification of the T-gene (brachury) and heterozygous loss of CDKN2A. We also identified heterozygous loss of the tumor suppressor FHIT gene, although protein expression was preserved. Accumulation of copy number losses and gains over three generations showed for the first time that there is inherent genomic instability in chordoma. In conclusion, this PDX reproduces the phenotype of clival chordoma. This study is the first to show chromosomal genomic instability in a chordoma that is serially propagated through multiple generations. The genomic instability observed in chordoma may serve as the biological basis for resistance to chemotherapy as is observed for other forms of cancer.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, significant strides have been made in determining the molecular landscape of DIPG, resulting in new preclinical models and therapies. However, the delivery of these treatments across the blood brain barrier (BBB) remains a significant challenge. Magnetic Resonance Image-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRIgFUS) has been used to achieve transient BBB opening without tissue injury. Delivery of a targeted ultrasonic wave causes a mechanical interaction between intravenously administered microbubbles and the capillary bed resulting in enhanced vessel permeability and a window of opportunity for drug delivery. Use of MRIgFUS in the treatment of patients with supratentorial brain tumours has been performed in Toronto. However, the safety of targeting the brainstem, with its crucial regulatory centres for wakefulness and cardiovascular control, has not previously been shown. Using a rodent model, we have conducted a study demonstrating the safety of MRIgFUS in the brainstem. METHODS: Four groups were defined (n= 9): 1) Microbubble administration but no MRIgFUS treatment; 2) MRIgFUS only; 3) MRIgFUS of the brainstem + microbubbles; and 4) MRIgFUS of the brainstem + microbubbles + cisplatin. To assess safety and non-toxicity, the following measurements were assessed: 1) Cardiovascular control via intra-procedural monitoring of heart rate and respiratory rate; 2) motor function and co-ordination via Rotarod and grip strength testing; 3) histological analysis for haemorrhage (H&E), neuronal integrity (NeuN) and apoptosis (cleaved Caspase-3). RESULTS: T1-weighted MR imaging confirmed BBB opening by contrast enhancement of the brainstem. Post-sonication, no deviations from baseline were observed in physiological monitoring. Histological analysis showed no evidence of haemorrhage, neuronal loss or increased apoptosis. Grip strength and Rotarod testing demonstrated no decline in performance across all groups. Our data confirms that we have optimized the parameters to safely, effectively and non-invasively penetrate the BBB in the brain stem, giving promise towards therapeutic drug delivery in DIPG.

BACKGROUND: Dysregulated, stem cell-like self-renewal has been implicated in glioma treatment resistance and tumour recurrence. Drugs that eliminate tumour cells possessing this malignant characteristic are urgently needed. It remains, however, an experimental challenge to link heterogeneous glioma genotypes to drug response at scale. To this end, we successfully derived patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models from both low- (LGG) and high-grade gliomas (HGG) and developed an initial drug discovery application. METHODS: Brain tumour tissue, acquired at surgery, was reprogrammed. Derived iPSC models were characterised using pluripotency markers, tri-germinal layer differentiation, gene expression, karyology and deep whole genome sequencing (WGS, iPSC versus parental tumour). Glioma iPSC differentiation in 2-dimensional (adherent, optically clear 96-well imaging plates) and 3-dimensional (organoid) culture was carried out. Gene expression of neural induction and neuronal differentiation was analysed using mRNA-seq. Neural cancer stem cells from each glioma iPSC line were orthotopically implanted in vivo. RESULTS: Reprogrammed cells were confirmed as fully-reprogramed/stable iPSCs, with mutational variants (SNPs, CNVs) preserved as compared to the parental tumours. Glioma iPSC maturation and quantification of TUJ-1 expression indicated a ‘differentiation block’ in the HGG iPSC models. This phenotype was concordant in HGG iPSC-derived tumour organoids which displayed SOX2/MKI67-positive neural rosettes. Consistently, mice developed xenograft tumours with GBM histopathological characteristics. Expression profiling during neuronal differentiation (from iPSC to neural stem cells to neurons) has revealed candidate genes that may be responsible for the phenotypic differences between HGG and control/LGG iPSC models. CONCLUSIONS: Our adherent, organoid and in vivo iPSC models may uncover genetic mutations and regulatory networks underlying glioma stem cell self-renewal capability, and provide a basis for industrial-scale drug discovery. Here we have successfully implemented the first stages towards this development (in a 96-well assay format). Ultimately, our patient-derived iPSC-based approach may enable personalised precision medicine strategies against glioma.

The malignant glioma is the most common primary human brain tumor, and its migration and invasiveness away from the primary tumor mass are considered a leading cause of tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Recently, gene expression profiling revealed that the transmembrane glycoprotein CD99 is more highly expressed in malignant glioma than in normal brain. Although its function is not completely understood, CD99 is implicated in cell adhesion and migration in a variety of different cell types. CD99 has wild-type and splice variant isoforms. Previous studies have shown that wild-type CD99 may be an oncosuppressor in some tumors, distinct from the role of the splice variant isoform. In this study, our data reveal that only wild-type CD99 is expressed in human glioma cells and tissues. Using a tissue microarray, we validated that gliomas demonstrate higher expression of CD99 compared with nonneoplastic brain. To assess the role of CD99 in glioma migration and invasion, we inhibited CD99 expression by siRNA and demonstrated decreased glioma migration and invasion. In contrast, when CD99 was overexpressed in glioma cells, we observed enhancement of cell migration and invasiveness. An orthotopic brain tumor model demonstrates that CD99 overexpression significantly increases invasiveness and decreases survival rate. Interestingly, Rac activity was decreased and Rho activity was increased in CD99 overexpressing glioma cells, and the proportion of amoeboid cells to mesenchymal cells was significantly increased. Taken together, our findings suggest that CD99 may play an important role in the migration and invasion of human gliomas independent of Akt, ERK, or JNK signaling pathways. Moreover, CD99 might be involved in amoeboid-mesenchymal transition in glioma migration. CD99 may be an important future target to inhibit migration and invasion, especially in CD99-expressing gliomas.

Malignant astrocytomas are highly invasive brain tumors. The Rho family of cytoskeletal GTPases are key regulators of astrocytoma migration and invasion; expression of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor ECT2 is elevated in primary astrocytomas and predicts both survival and malignancy. Mice bearing orthotopically implanted astrocytoma cells with diminished ECT2 levels following ECT2 knockdown exhibit longer survival. Although ECT2 is normally expressed in the nucleus, we show that ECT2 is aberrantly localized to the cytoplasm in both astrocytoma cell lines and primary human astrocytomas, and colocalizes with RAC1 and CDC42 at the leading edge of migrating astrocytoma cells. Inhibition of ECT2 expression by RNA interference resulted in decreased RAC1 and CDC42 activity, but no change in RHO activity, suggesting that ECT2 is capable of activating these pro-migratory Rho family members. ECT2 overexpression in astrocytoma cells resulted in a transition to an amoeboid phenotype that was abolished with the ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632. Cytoplasmic fractionation of astrocytoma cells followed by ECT2 immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were used to identify protein-binding partners that modulate the activity of ECT2 toward RAC1 and RHO/ROCK. We identified RASAL2 as an ECT2-interacting protein that regulates RHO activity in astrocytoma cells. RASAL2 knockdown leads to a conversion to an amoeboid phenotype. Our studies reveal that ECT2 has a novel role in mesenchymal-amoeboid transition in human astrocytoma cells.

The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET pathway plays a critical role in the development of the nervous system and has been implicated in medulloblastoma pathogenesis. Recent studies have shown a role for gene amplification of activators of this pathway, as well as silencing of its inhibitors in medulloblastoma pathogenesis. We analyzed exon array data from a cohort of 103 primary medulloblastomas to show that HGF/MET pathway elements are dysregulated in tumors compared to normal cerebellum. To determine if mutation of HGF/MET pathway genes is a mechanism for pathway dysregulation, we conducted a mutational analysis by exon resequencing of three key components of this pathway, including serine protease inhibitor Kunitz-type 1 (SPINT1), serine protease inhibitor Kunitz-type 2 (SPINT2), and MET, in 32 primary human medulloblastoma specimens. From this analysis, we identified multiple coding synonymous and nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in these genes among the 32 tumor samples. Interestingly, we also discovered two unreported sequence variants in SPINT1 and SPINT2 in two tumors that resulted in Arginine to Histidine amino acid substitutions at codons 418 and 233, respectively. However, conservation assessment and functional assays of these two variants indicate that they involve nonconserved residues and that they do not affect the function of SPINT1 and SPINT2 as tumor suppressor genes. In conclusion, our data suggest that mutation alone plays a minor role in causing aberrancies of the HGF/MET pathway in medulloblastoma in comparison with other malignancies such as breast, hepatocellular, renal, and lung carcinomas.

The cofilin pathway plays a central role in the regulation of actin polymerization and the formation of cell membrane protrusions that are essential for cell migration. Overexpression of cofilin has been linked to the aggressiveness of a variety of different cancers. In these cancers, the phosphorylation of cofilin at Ser3 is a key regulatory mechanism modulating cofilin activity. The activation status of cofilin has been directly linked to tumor invasion. Accordingly, in this study, we examined the expression of cofilin and its activation status in astrocytoma cell lines and astrocytic tumors. We show that cofilin expression was increased and correlated with increasing grade malignant astrocytoma. In addition, both cofilin and LIMK had elevated expression in astrocytoma cell lines. Knockdown of cofilin by siRNA altered astrocytoma cell morphology and inhibited astrocytoma migration and invasion. Conversely, overexpression of a cofilin phosphorylation mutant in an in vivo intracranial xenograft model resulted in a more highly invasive phenotype than those xenographs expressing wild-type cofilin. Animals harboring astrocytomas stably expressing the cofilin phosphorylation mutant (cofilin-S3A) demonstrated marked local invasiveness and spread across the corpus callosum to the contralateral hemisphere in all animals. Taken together, these data indicate that the cofilin activity pathway may represent a novel therapeutic target to diminish the invasion of these highly malignant tumors.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Dysregulation of WNT signaling occurs in up to 20% of cases. Using a genome-wide approach, we identified the secreted frizzled-related protein 1, 2 and 3 (SFRP1, SFRP2 and SFRP3) family of WNT inhibitors as putative tumor suppressor genes silenced by promoter region methylation in MB. SFRP1, SFRP2 and SFRP3 expression increased after 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine treatment. SFRP1, SFRP2 and SFRP3 methylation was identified in 23.5, 3.9 and 15.7% of primary MB specimens, respectively, by methylation-specific PCR. Stable SFRP1, SFRP2 and SFRP3 expression reduced phospho-DVL2 levels and hindered MB cell proliferation and colony formation in soft agar in vitro. In 60% of primary tumors, SFRP1 was expressed at levels twofold lower than that in normal cerebellum. SFRP1 expression impaired tumor formation in vivo in flank and orthotopic intracerebellar xenograft models and conferred a significant survival advantage (P

Although medulloblastoma is the most common pediatric malignant brain tumor, its molecular underpinnings are largely unknown. We have identified rare, recurrent homozygous deletions of Kruppel-like Factor 4 (KLF4) in medulloblastoma using high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, digital karyotyping, and genomic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, we show that there is loss of physiological KLF4 expression in more than 40% of primary medulloblastomas both at the RNA and protein levels. Medulloblastoma cell lines drastically increase the expression of KLF4 in response to the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine and demonstrate dense methylation of the promoter CpG island by bisulfite sequencing. Methylation-specific PCR targeting the KLF4 promoter demonstrates CpG methylation in approximately 16% of primary medulloblastomas. Reexpression of KLF4 in the D283 medulloblastoma cell line results in significant growth suppression both in vitro and in vivo. We conclude that KLF4 is inactivated by either genetic or epigenetic mechanisms in a large subset of medulloblastomas and that it likely functions as a tumor suppressor gene in the pathogenesis of medulloblastoma.

BACKGROUND: (blind field). METHODS: Expression profiling, molecular subgrouping and analysis of somatic copy number alterations were conducted on multiple independent cohorts of patient tumour samples to examine intermediates of the MET signaling pathway in medulloblastoma. To examine the in vitro and in vivo effects of foretinib treatment; MET signalling biochemical analysis; migration and invasion assays; and foretinib pharmacokinetic studies were performed. Medulloblastoma xenografts and transgenic mouse models were used to evaluate foretinib treatment in vivo. RESULTS: We analyzed three large non-overlapping cohorts of medulloblastoma patients (discovery cohort, n = 199; validation cohort 1, n = 439; validation cohort 2, n = 285) and demonstrated that cMET, known to be involved in tumor progression and dissemination, is a marker of sonic hedgehog (SHH) medulloblastoma. Importantly, immunohistochemical analysis of activated cMET (phosphorylated cMET) in another independent patient cohort (n = 385) revealed that cMET activation correlates with increased tumor relapse and a poor survival in pediatric patients with SHH medulloblastomas, thus defining a subset of patients that may benefit from cMET targeted therapy. We show that foretinib, an FDA approved inhibitor of cMET, suppresses cMET activation, decreases proliferation and induces apoptosis, both in medulloblastoma cell lines and in SHH medulloblastoma xenografts. Furthermore foretinib penetrates the blood-brain barrier and is effective both in the primary and in the metastatic compartments. Treatment of mouse xenografts and of an aggressive transgenic model of metastatic SHH medulloblastoma with foretinib reduced primary medulloblastoma growth, decreased the incidence of metastases by 36% and increased survival by 45%. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide strong rationale for advancing foretinib into clinical trials for SHH-driven medulloblastomas. SECONDARY CATEGORY: Tumor Biology.

Malignant gliomas are highly proliferative and invasive neoplasms where total surgical resection is often impossible and effective local radiation therapy difficult. Consequently, there is a need to develop a greater understanding of the molecular events driving invasion and to identify novel treatment targets. Using microarray analysis comparing normal brain samples and mesenchymal glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), we identified over 140 significant genes involved in cell migration and invasion. The cofilin (CFL) pathway, which disassembles actin filaments, was highly up-regulated compared to normal brain. Up-regulation of LIM domain kinase 1 and 2 (LIMK1/2), that phosphorylates and inactivates cofilin, was confirmed in an additional independent data set comparing normal brain to GBM. We identified and utilized two small molecule inhibitors BMS-5 and Cucurbitacin I directed against the cofilin regulating kinases, LIMK1 and LIMK2, to target this pathway. Significant decreases in cell viability were observed in glioma cells treated with BMS-5 and Cucurbitacin I, while no cytotoxic effects were seen in normal astrocytes that lack LIMK. BMS-5 and Cucurbitacin I promoted increased adhesion in GBM cells, and decreased migration and invasion. Collectively, these data suggest that use of LIMK inhibitors may provide a novel way to target the invasive machinery in GBM.

// Roberto Jose Diaz 1,2,3,* , Brian Golbourn 1,* , Claudia Faria 1 , Daniel Picard 1 , David Shih 1 , Denis Raynaud 4 , Michael Leadly 4 , Danielle MacKenzie 1 , Melissa Bryant 1 , Matthew Bebenek 1 , Christian A. Smith 1 , Michael D. Taylor 1,2,3 , Annie Huang 1 and James T. Rutka 1,2,3 1 The Hospital for Sick Children. Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 4 Analytical Facility for Bioactive Molecules, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence: James T. Rutka, email: // Keywords: Aurora kinase, medulloblastoma, tumor biology, molecular therapy,cell-cycle Received : June 29, 2014 Accepted : December 24, 2014 Published : December 31, 2014 Abstract Medulloblastoma comprises four molecular subgroups of which Group 3 medulloblastoma is characterized by MYC amplification and MYC overexpression. Lymphoma cells expressing high levels of MYC are susceptible to apoptosis following treatment with inhibitors of mitosis. One of the key regulatory kinases involved in multiple stages of mitosis is Aurora kinase B. We hypothesized that medulloblastoma cells that overexpress MYC would be uniquely sensitized to the apoptotic effects of Aurora B inhibition. The specific inhibition of Aurora kinase B was achieved in MYC- overexpressing medulloblastoma cells with AZD1152-HQPA. MYC overexpression sensitized medulloblastoma cells to cell death upon Aurora B inhibition. This process was found to be independent of endoreplication. Using both flank and intracranial cerebellar xenografts we demonstrate that tumors formed from MYC-overexpressing medulloblastoma cells show a response to Aurora B inhibition including growth impairment and apoptosis induction. Lastly, we show the distribution of AZD1152-HQPA within the mouse brain and the ability to inhibit intracranial tumor growth and prolong survival in mice bearing tumors formed from MYC-overexpressing medulloblastoma cells. Our results suggest the potential for therapeutic application of Aurora kinase B inhibitors in the treatment of Group 3 medulloblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and devastating primary brain tumor in adults. Despite current treatment modalities, such as surgical resection followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, only modest improvements in median survival have been achieved. Frequent recurrence and invasiveness of GBM are likely due to the resistance of glioma stem cells to conventional treatments; therefore, novel alternative treatment strategies are desperately needed. Recent advancements in molecular biology and gene technology have provided attractive novel treatment possibilities for patients with GBM. Gene therapy is defined as a technology that aims to modify the genetic complement of cells to obtain therapeutic benefit. To date, gene therapy for the treatment of GBM has demonstrated anti-tumor efficacy in pre-clinical studies and promising safety profiles in clinical studies. However, while this approach is obviously promising, concerns still exist regarding issues associated with transduction efficiency, viral delivery, the pathologic response of the brain, and treatment efficacy. Tumor development and progression involve alterations in a wide spectrum of genes, therefore a variety of gene therapy approaches for GBM have been proposed. Improved viral vectors are being evaluated, and the potential use of gene therapy alone or in synergy with other treatments against GBM are being studied. In this review, we will discuss the most commonly studied gene therapy approaches for the treatment of GBM in preclinical and clinical studies including: prodrug/suicide gene therapy; oncolytic gene therapy; cytokine mediated gene therapy; and tumor suppressor gene therapy. In addition, we review the principles and mechanisms of current gene therapy strategies as well as advantages and disadvantages of each.

Chordoma is a rare tumor arising in the sacrum, clivus, or vertebrae. It is often not completely resectable and shows a high incidence of recurrence and progression with shortened patient survival and impaired quality of life. Chemo-therapeutic options are limited to investigational therapies at present. Therefore, adjuvant therapy for control of tumor recurrence and progression is of great interest, especially in skull base lesions where complete tumor resection is often not possible because of the proximity of cranial nerves. To understand the extent of genetic instability and associated chromosomal and gene losses or gains in skull base chordoma, we undertook whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism microarray analysis of flash frozen surgical chordoma specimens, 21 from the clivus and 1 from C1 to C2 vertebrae. We confirm the presence of a deletion at 9p involving CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and MTAP but at a much lower rate (22\%) than previously reported for sacral chordoma. At a similar frequency (21\%), we found aneuploidy of chromosome 3. Tissue microarray immunohistochemistry demonstrated absent or reduced fragile histidine triad (FHIT) protein expression in 98\% of sacral chordomas and 67\% of skull base chordomas. Our data suggest that chromosome 3 aneuploidy and epigenetic regulation of FHIT contribute to loss of the FHIT tumor suppressor in chordoma. The finding that FHIT is lost in a majority of chordomas provides new insight into chordoma pathogenesis and points to a potential new therapeutic target for this challenging neoplasm. Neoplasia (2012) 14, 788-798

Inhibition of Aurora kinase B has been evaluated as a therapy to block solid tumor growth in breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and colorectal cancer models. Aurora kinase inhibitors are in early clinical trials for the treatment of leukemia. We hypothesized that Aurora B inhibition would reduce malignant glioma cell viability and result in impaired tumor growth in vivo. Aurora B expression is greater in cultured malignant glioma U251 cells compared to proliferating normal human astrocytes, and expression is maintained in U251 flank xenografts. Aurora B inhibition with AZD1152-HQPA blocked cell division in four different p53-mutant glioma cell lines (U251, T98G, U373, and U118). AZD1152-HQPA also inhibited Aurora C activation loop threonine autophosphorylation at the effective antiproliferative concentrations in vitro. Reduction in cell viability of U251 (p53(R273H)) cells was secondary to cytokinesis blockade and apoptosis induction following endoreplication. AZD1152-HQPA inhibited the growth of U251 tumor xenografts and resulted in an increase in tumor cell apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Subcutaneous administration of AZD1152-HQPA (25 mg/kg/day × 4 days; 2 cycles spaced 7 days apart) resulted in a prolongation in median survival after intracranial inoculation of U251 cells in mice (P = 0.025). This is the first demonstration that an Aurora kinase inhibitor can inhibit malignant glioma growth in vivo at drug doses that are clinically relevant.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament expressed in glial cells that stabilizes and maintains the cytoskeleton of normal astrocytes. In glial tumors, GFAP expression is frequently lost with increasing grade of malignancy, suggesting that GFAP is important for maintaining glial cell morphology or regulating astrocytoma cell growth. Most permanent human glioma cell lines are GFAP negative by immunocytochemistry. Given that the GFAP gene is not mutated in human glioma specimens or glioma cell lines, we considered epigenetic mechanisms, such as promoter methylation, as a cause of silencing of GFAP in these tumors. In this study, we treated known GFAP-negative glioma cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine to examine GFAP promoter hypermethylation. Additionally, we performed bisulfite sequencing on primary glioma samples and glioma cell lines and showed an inverse relationship between GFAP promoter methylation status and GFAP expression. Using a gene reporter assay with the GFAP promoter cloned upstream of a luciferase gene, we showed that methylation of the GFAP promoter downregulates the expression of the luciferase gene. Our results suggest that epigenetic silencing of the GFAP gene through DNA methylation of its promoter region may be one mechanism by which GFAP is downregulated in human gliomas and glioma cell lines.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a malignant cerebellar tumor that occurs primarily in children. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET pathway has an established role in both normal cerebellar development as well as the development and progression of human brain tumors, including MB. To identify novel tumor suppressor genes involved in MB pathogenesis, we performed an epigenome-wide screen in MB cell lines, using 5-aza-2′deoxycytidine to identify genes aberrantly silenced by promoter hypermethylation. Using this technique, we identified an inhibitor of HGF/MET signaling, serine protease inhibitor kunitz-type 2 (SPINT2/HAI-2), as a putative tumor suppressor silenced by promoter methylation in MB. In addition, based on single nucleotide polymorphism array analysis in primary MB samples, we identified hemizygous deletions targeting the SPINT2 locus in addition to gains on chromosome 7 encompassing the HGF and MET loci. SPINT2 gene expression was down-regulated and MET expression was up-regulated in 73.2% and 45.5% of tumors, respectively, by quantitative real-time PCR. SPINT2 promoter methylation was detected in 34.3% of primary MBs examined by methylation-specific PCR. SPINT2 reexpression in MB cell lines reduced proliferative capacity, anchorage independent growth, cell motility in vitro, and increased overall survival times in vivo in a xenograft model (P < 0.0001). Taken together, these data support the role of SPINT2 as a putative tumor suppressor gene in MB, and further implicate dysregulation of the HGF/MET signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of MB. [Cancer Res 2008;68(23):9945–53]

Since the establishment of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors in 1984, neurosurgeons have been actively involved in basic science research of human brain tumors that has moved the field forward considerably. Here, we chronicle the major advances that have been made with respect to our understanding of the concepts guiding the biology of human malignant brain tumors. Numerous technical advances in science, such as the development of gene transfer techniques, the polymerase chain reaction, the discovery of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, and the refinement of approaches to cancer cytogenetics have enabled researchers to identify many of the non-random genetic alterations associated with brain tumor growth, invasion, immunology, angiogenesis and apoptosis. These data led to some astounding progress, for example with the use of gene therapy, whereby in the 1990s several human clinical trials were conducted for patients with brain tumors. More recently, the human genome project has been completed providing a blueprint for the human species. What has followed are exciting new techniques in molecular biology such as transcriptional profiling, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-arrays, array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH), microRNA profiling, and detection of epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes. The cancer genome is now being sequenced at break neck speed using advanced DNA sequencing techniques. We are on the threshold of cataloguing the major genetic alterations observed in all human brain tumors. What will follow is modeling of these genetic alterations in systems that will allow for the development of novel pharmacotherapeutics and translational research therapies.

Introduction: Malignant astrocytoma is a highly proliferative and invasive neoplasm that infiltrates diffusely into regions of normal brain rendering total surgical extirpation impossible and effective local radiation therapy difficult. Conventional chemotherapy frequently fails because most agents administered systemically will not cross the blood-brain barrier. Despite recent reports which have shown a 2-month survival advantage when adjuvant temozolomide chemotherapy is used for glioblastoma multiforme, death ensues in most cases within 2 years of diagnosis. For truly significant advances to be made in the treatment of patients with malignant astrocytoma, we must develop a greater understanding of the basic biology of these neoplasms. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to examine a key pathway involving the Rho-GTPase family of proteins that regulates glioma cell migration from the tumor mass into normal brain tissue. One of the Rho-GTPase family proteins, CDC42 is the major regulator of cell polarity. It plays a crucial role in controlling the direction of cell migration by determining the cell membrane localization of lamellipodia, and by moving the microtubule-organizing center and Golgi apparatus in front of the nucleus and towards the leading edge of the cell. However, there have been few reports on the role of CDC42 in human astrocytomas. METHOD: In order to examine the role of CDC42 in glioblastoma, we generated stable doxycycline (DOX) inducible cell lines expressing wild type (WT) -, constitutively active (CA) -, and dominant negative (DN) -CDC42. Cell viability, migration, and invasion assays were performed using the cell lines. We also used orthotopic xenograft mouse models and evaluated the survival by Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: Administration of DOX induced the expression of CA-CDC42 and demonstrated significantly increased migration and invasion properties compared to WT and DN-CDC42. Furthermore, CA-CDC42 bearing mice with DOX treatment had significantly decreased survival compared to WT and DN with DOX. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that CA-CDC42 enhances the astrocytoma invasion and migration. Furthermore, CA-CDC42 increased the size of implanted tumor in the murine brain leading to early mortality. We concluded that CA-CDC42 plays an important role for astrocytoma malignancy. Citation Format: Hidehiro Okura, Brian J. Golbourn, Amanda J. Luck, Christian A. Smith, James T. Rutka. Role of the Rho-GTPase CDC42 in glioma migration. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4038. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4038

Aggressive cancer cells are characterized by high rates glycolysis and lactate production, a metabolic reprogramming event known as the Warburg effect. This ultimately provides tumor cells including GBM the most malignant and common primary brain tumor with intermediate metabolites for anabolic processes, cell proliferation and invasion. However, these biological processes generate oxidative stress that must be balanced through detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using an unbiased retroviral loss of function screen in pre-disposed but non-transformed astrocytes, we demonstrate that PTEN Induced Kinase 1 (PINK1), a mitochondrial kinase is a crucial regulator of the Warburg effect. Mechanistically, loss of PINK1 mediates metabolic reprogramming in normal human astrocytes through ROS dependent hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) stabilization, a transcription factor that controls expression of several aerobic glycolysis genes. Overexpression of PINK1 in GBM cells suppresses ROS, HIF1a and the Warburg effect in vitro and in vivo. Surprisingly, loss of PINK1 in GBM cells that retain PINK1 expression increases oxidative stress and reduces cell viability suggesting ROS balance and maintenance is critical in tumor cells and can be therapeutically exploited. PINK1 loss was observed in GBM and correlated with poor patient survival. Collectively, we demonstrate that PINK1 is a negative regulator of the Warburg effect.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in childhood accounting for around 10% of all pediatric cancer deaths. Dissemination occurs in 30% of the patients at the time of diagnosis and essentially defines children with incurable disease given that metastatic disease is refractory to current treatments. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new therapies to treat metastatic MB. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/cMET signaling pathway has been recently implicated in the pathogenesis of MB. Overexpression of cMET and HGF is associated with group C tumors which have high incidence of metastasis and poor outcome. Moreover, overexpression of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) was also identified in metastatic MB. Using foretinib, a multi-kinase inhibitor of cMET and PDGFRα, we aimed to target two important pathways involved in MB dissemination. Using three MB cell lines (Daoy, ONS - 76 and D425) that express different amounts of the receptors (cMET and PDGF), we performed dose-response experiments with foretinib, measuring downstream targets of cMET and PDGFRα activation. We showed that foretinib inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion and anchorage independent growth of MB cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. By immunofluorecence, we observed that foretinib induces polyploidy and using flow cytometry analysis we found that it also induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G2-M phase. To test the efficacy of foretinib in vivo we have created a disseminated mouse model of MB injecting MB cells in the fourth ventricle of nude mice, mimicking the process of dissemination in children. The cells were previously transfected with a luciferase expressing vector allowing weekly monitoring of tumor growth and dissemination by bioluminescence imaging. Foretinib was able to reduce tumor growth and metastasis in xenografts, increasing survival when compared to controls. Altogether these results suggest that small molecule inhibitors of cMET and PDGFR may represent a new therapeutic strategy in the treatment of disseminated MB. Given that foretinib is already being tested in clinical trials for other forms of cancer, the findings from our experiments may lead to the design of identical trials in children with metastatic medulloblastoma. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 847. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-847

The malignant glioma is the most common primary human brain tumor, and its migration and invasiveness away from the primary tumor mass is considered a leading cause of tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Recently, gene expression profiling revealed CD99, which is a transmembrane glycoprotein, is more expressed in malignant glioma than in normal brain. It has been implicated in cell adhesion and migration in various cells, even if the function of this gene is not understood clearly. This gene has two isoforms of wild-type and splicing variant. We revealed that only wild-type CD99 is expressed in human glioma cells and tissues. Through MTS, colony-forming, and anoikis assays, we found that wild-type CD99 in glioma cells has enough resistance for anoikis and ability to survive and grow in anchorage independence, as is opposed to previous reports in other tumors. Using tissue microarray, we validated that CD99 demonstrates higher expression in gliomas compared to non-neoplastic brain. We inhibited CD99 expression by siRNA and demonstrated decreased glioma cell migration and invasion. In contrast, when CD99 was over-expressed in glioma cells, we observed enhancement of cell migration and invasiveness. Orthotopic brain tumor model with nude mice harboring CD99 overexpressing glioma cells results in significant decreased survival rate, compared to control mice. Moreover, higher invasiveness is observed in overexpressing mice by pathological review. Taken together, our findings suggest that CD99 play an important role in the migration and invasion of human gliomas. CD99 could be a target to inhibit migration and invasion especially in CD99-expressing gliomas. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2355. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2355

Medulloblastoma is the most common pediatric posterior fossa malignancy, with a 5-year overall survival of only 60% and many survivors experiencing treatment-related morbidity secondary to current therapeutic regimens. With an improved understanding of the molecular basis for this disease, the opportunity to develop novel treatments with more tolerable toxicity profiles that target key molecular pathways, now exists. Recently, the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET signaling pathway has been implicated in medulloblastoma pathogenesis. Several therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway exist, including small molecule inhibitor therapy against the MET receptor tyrosine kinase. We examined the in vitro efficacy of targeting the MET receptor using the highly specific small molecule inhibitor PHA665752 as a novel treatment strategy in medulloblastoma. MET inhibition using PHA665752 was effective at reducing the proliferative capacity of the D283, ONS76, and MED8A medulloblastoma cell lines as assessed by MTS assay. Furthermore, PHA665752 treatment reduced D283 and ONS76 cell motility and impaired the growth of D283 cells in soft agar. Pretreatment of D283, ONS76, and MED8A cells with PHA665752 blocked exogenous recombinant human HGF-induced up-regulation of the downstream RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway in D283, ONS76 and MED8A cell lines. Similarly, PHA665752 prevented HGF-induced phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT signaling in ONS76 and MED8A cells. These results highlight the efficacy of targeting the MET receptor tyrosine kinase therapeutically in medulloblastoma and provide support for further preclinical testing of small molecule inhibitors targeting the MET receptor in medulloblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBMs) are the most common and lethal of all gliomas, with an average survival of ∼ 12-16 months. Several gain- and loss-of-function genetic alterations have been implicated in gliomagenesis leading to GBM formation, however many more genetic alterations exist, as evidenced by recent reports from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project on human GBMs. Well-characterized mouse models, especially those that progressively develop gliomas, also, offer an opportunity to discover novel glioma relevant genetic alterations, using viral and non-viral random mutagenesis strategies. Using gene-trap strategies in our spontaneous transgenic mouse RasB8 glioma model, which expresses V12H-Ras under the control of the astrocyte tissue specific human promoter GFAP, we identified GATA6, a member of the GATA family of transcription factors, as a novel tumour suppressor gene (TSG) involved in progression of human GBMs and GATA4, a close family member of GATA6, to also function as a TSG involved in initiation of gliomagenesis. We now generated novel gain of function and loss of function gene-traps and transduced non-transformed but genetically susceptible primary murine astrocytes harboring either activated V12H-Ras, or loss of the tumour suppressors, p53, Ink4a/Arf, Pten−/− and over-expression of the human EGFRvIII mutant. Pending verification in our mouse models and human specimens we hypothesized that that trapped clones from V12H-Ras, p53 null and Ink4a/ARF null astrocytes would reveal progression factors, as these genetic alterations are associated with human low grade gliomas and occur early on in GBM formation. In contrast, trapped clones from astrocytes with EGFRvIII or Pten−/−, already demonstrated to promote progression, would likely lead to the discovery of initiation factors. Several gene-trapped clones led to transformation as measured by soft agar assays in initial screens using astrocytes with activated V12H-Ras. By means of inverse PCR we identified gene-trap insertion sites in introns of RapGap1, Ikkβ, Socs6, and Pink1 leading to loss of function. Of great interest was PTEN induced Kinase 1, PINK1, a mitochondrial serine/threonine kinase that is frequently mutated in patients in Parkinson disease while its link to cancer and GBM is poorly characterized. Initial screening in GBMs reveals reduced expression of PINK1 protein compared to normal human astrocyte controls. Pink1 gene-trap clones also exhibited increased proliferation and increased transformation compared to empty vector controls providing initial evidence that mouse and human PINK1 may have tumour suppressive properties, with current validation in progress. Gene-trapping strategies in robust animal models provide an invaluable tool that complement large scale cancer genome sequencing projects in identification of relevant driver GBM modifier genes in random non-biased manner. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4126.

Malignant glioma is the most common primary brain tumor, and its ability to invade the surrounding brain parenchyma is a leading cause of tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Whereas the molecular mechanisms of glioma invasion are incompletely understood, there is growing evidence that cytoskeletal-matrix interactions contribute to this process. Fascin, an actin-bundling protein, induces parallel actin bundles in cell protrusions and increases cell motility in multiple human malignancies. The role of fascin in glioma invasion remains unclear. We demonstrate that fascin is expressed in a panel of human malignant glioma cell lines, and downregulation of fascin expression in glioma cell lines by small interfering RNA (siRNA) is associated with decreased cellular attachment to extracellular matrix (ECM) and reduced migration. Using immunofluorescence analysis, we show that fascin depletion results in a reduced number of filopodia as well as altered glioma cell shape. In vitro invasiveness of U251, U87, and SNB19 glioma cells was inhibited by fascin siRNA treatment by 52.2%, 40.3%, and 23.8% respectively. Finally, we show a decreased invasiveness of U251-GFP cells by fascin knockdown in an ex vivo rat brain slice model system. This is the first study to demonstrate a role for fascin in glioma cell morphology, motility, and invasiveness.

The malignant glioma is the most common primary human brain tumor. Its tendency to invade away from the primary tumor mass is considered a leading cause of tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Accordingly, the molecular pathogenesis of glioma invasion is currently under investigation. Previously, we examined a gene expression array database comparing human gliomas to nonneoplastic controls and identified several Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factors with differential expression. Here, we report that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor SWAP-70 has increased expression in malignant gliomas and strongly correlates with lowered patient survival. SWAP-70 is a multifunctional signaling protein involved in membrane ruffling that works cooperatively with activated Rac. Using a glioma tissue microarray, we validated that SWAP-70 demonstrates higher expression in malignant gliomas compared with low-grade gliomas or nonneoplastic brain tissue. Through immunofluorescence, SWAP-70 localizes to membrane ruffles in response to the growth factor, epidermal growth factor. To assess the role of SWAP-70 in glioma migration and invasion, we inhibited its expression withsmall interfering RNAs and observed decreased glioma cell migration and invasion. SWAP-70 overexpression led to increased levels of active Rac even in low-serum conditions. In addition, when SWAP-70 was overexpressed in glioma cells, we observed enhanced membrane ruffle formation followed by increased cellmigration and invasiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the guanine nucleotide exchange factor SWAP-70 plays an important role in the migration and invasion of human gliomas into the surrounding tissue.