REST controls self-renewal and tumorigenic competence of human glioblastoma cells.
The Repressor Element 1 Silencing Transcription factor (REST/NRSF) is a master repressor of neuronal programs in non-neuronal lineages shown to function as a central regulator of developmental programs and stem cell physiology. Aberrant REST function has been associated with a number of pathological conditions. In cancer biology, REST has been shown to play a tumor suppressor activity in epithelial cancers but an oncogenic role in brain childhood malignancies such as neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. Here we examined REST expression in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) specimens and its role in GBM cells carrying self-renewal and tumorigenic competence. We found REST to be expressed in GBM specimens, its presence being particularly enriched in tumor cells in the perivascular compartment. Significantly, REST is highly expressed in self-renewing tumorigenic-competent GBM cells and its knock down strongly reduces their self-renewal in vitro and tumor-initiating capacity in vivo and affects levels of miR-124 and its downstream targets. These results indicate that REST contributes to GBM maintenance by affecting its self-renewing and tumorigenic cellular component and that, hence, a better understanding of these circuitries in these cells might lead to new exploitable therapeutic targets.
Department of Pharmacological Sciences and Centre for Stem Cell Research, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy. Luciano.Conti@unimi.it
Luciano
L
Conti
Laura
L
Crisafulli
Valentina
V
Caldera
Monica
M
Tortoreto
Elisa
E
Brilli
Paola
P
Conforti
Franco
F
Zunino
Lorenzo
L
Magrassi
Davide
D
Schiffer
Elena
E
Cattaneo
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017304:Annexin A5; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism*; D003124:Colorimetry; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000099229:RE1-Silencing Transcription Factor
D017304:Annexin A5; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D000099229:RE1-Silencing Transcription Factor; C509207:MIRN124 microRNA, human; C022616:thiazolyl blue