Direct Implantation of Patient Brain Tumor Cells into Matching Locations in Mouse Brains for Patient-Derived Orthotopic Xenograft Model Development.

Despite multimodality therapies, the prognosis of patients with malignant brain tumors remains extremely poor. One of the major obstacles that hinders development of effective therapies is the limited availability of clinically relevant and biologically accurate (CRBA) mouse models. We have developed a freehand surgical technique that allows for rapid and safe injection of fresh human brain tumor specimens directly into the matching locations (cerebrum, cerebellum, or brainstem) in the brains of SCID mice.

Silencing GMPPB Inhibits the Proliferation and Invasion of GBM via Hippo/MMP3 Pathways.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive malignancy and represents the most common brain tumor in adults. To better understand its biology for new and effective therapies, we examined the role of GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase B (GMPPB), a key unit of the GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GDP-MP) that catalyzes the formation of GDP-mannose. Impaired GMPPB function will reduce the amount of GDP-mannose available for O-mannosylation.