Medulloblastoma stem cells: modeling tumor heterogeneity

Branavan Manoranjan; Chitra Venugopal; Nicole McFarlane; Bradley W Doble; Sandra E Dunn; Katrin Scheinemann; Sheila K Singh

doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2012.07.010

Medulloblastoma stem cells: modeling tumor heterogeneity

Cancer Lett. 2013 Sep 10;338(1):23-31. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2012.07.010. Epub 2012 Jul 14.

Authors

Branavan Manoranjan¹, Chitra Venugopal, Nicole McFarlane, Bradley W Doble, Sandra E Dunn, Katrin Scheinemann, Sheila K Singh

Affiliation

¹ McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1.

PMID: 22796365
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2012.07.010

Abstract

Brain tumors represent the leading cause of childhood cancer mortality, with medulloblastoma (MB) being the most frequent malignant tumor. In this review we discuss the morphological and molecular heterogeneity of this malignant childhood brain tumor and how this key feature has implicated the presence of a MB stem cell. We focus on evidence from cerebellar development, histopathological and molecular subtypes of MB, the recent identification of brain tumor-initiating cells (BTICs, also referred to as MB stem cells), and the current limitations in studying the interplay between MB stem cells and tumor heterogeneity.

Keywords: Brain-tumor initiating cells; Cancer stem cell; Medulloblastoma; Signaling pathways.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Cell Proliferation*
Cerebellar Neoplasms / genetics
Cerebellar Neoplasms / pathology*
Child
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
Genetic Heterogeneity
Humans
Medulloblastoma / genetics
Medulloblastoma / pathology*
Models, Genetic
Neoplastic Stem Cells / metabolism
Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology*
Signal Transduction / genetics