Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have discovered a common genetic driver of aggressive meningioma, which can help clinicians detect this dangerous cancer earlier and find new treatments for these difficult-to-treat tumors. A research team led by Dr. David Raleigh found that increased gene activity called FOXM1 seems to be responsible for the aggressive growth, and these tumors frequently relapse.
To investigate the factors that may lead to aggressive meningioma, Raleigh’s team collected 280 human meningioma samples from 1990 to 2015. Using a range of techniques, including RNA sequencing and targeted gene expression profiling, the researchers searched for links between gene activity and protein production in these tumorji and patients’ clinical outcomes. Finally, a gene called FOXM1 was found to be the core of the growth of invasive meningioma, and also an indicator of the subsequent adverse clinical outcomes, including death.
Raziskovalci so odkrili tudi novo povezavo med širjenjem agresivnih meningiomov in aktivacijo medceličnih signalnih poti, imenovano Wnt, ki običajno igra vlogo pri razvoju zarodka in tvorbi tkiva. Glede na to, da lahko beljakovine, ki jih proizvaja FOXM1, prenašajo signale po poti Wnt, novi podatki kažejo, da lahko sodelovanje FOXM1 in poti Wnt vodi do nadaljnje širitve meningiomov. Hipermetilacija je lahko zgodnji sprožilec nastanka agresivnih meningiomov.
Raleigh je dejal, da je treba v prihodnjem delu ugotoviti, kateri geni FOXM1 aktivira za spodbujanje rasti meningioma, in te cilje blokirati s kliničnimi terapijami. Upamo, da bodo na tej poti čim prej ustavili patogenezo možganskih tumorjev in koristili večini bolnikov z rakom.
