Microtubule-associated NAV3 regulates invasive phenotypes in glioblastoma cells.

Glioblastomas are aggressive brain tumors for which effective therapy is still lacking, resulting in dismal survival rates. These tumors display significant phenotypic plasticity, harboring diverse cell populations ranging from tumor core cells to dispersed, highly invasive cells. Neuron navigator 3 (NAV3), a microtubule-associated protein affecting microtubule growth and dynamics, is downregulated in various cancers, including glioblastoma, and has thus been considered a tumor suppressor.

Fibrillar extracellular matrix produced by pericyte-like cells facilitates glioma cell dissemination.

Gliomagenesis induces profound changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the brain. In this study, we identified a cellular population responsible for the increased deposition of collagen I and fibronectin in glioblastoma. Elevated levels of the fibrillar proteins collagen I and fibronectin were associated with the expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP), which is predominantly found in pericyte-like cells in glioblastoma.

Molecularly targeted protease-activated probes for visualization of glioblastoma: a comparison with 5-ALA.

Objective: The highly infiltrative growth of glioblastoma (GBM) makes distinction between the tumor and normal brain tissue challenging. Therefore, fluorescence-guided surgery is often used to improve visual identification of radiological tumor margins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of recently developed molecularly targeted near-infrared (NIR) protease-activated probes to visualize GBM tissue and to compare the most promising candidate with the gold standard, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA).

Critical appraisal of the piRNA-PIWI axis in cancer and cancer stem cells.

Small noncoding RNAs play an important role in various disease states, including cancer. PIWI proteins, a subfamily of Argonaute proteins, and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) were originally described as germline-specific molecules that inhibit the deleterious activity of transposable elements. However, several studies have suggested a role for the piRNA-PIWI axis in somatic cells, including somatic stem cells.