title: Glial progenitors as targets for transformation in glioma.
abstract: Glioma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor and arises throughout the central nervous system. Recent focus on stem-like glioma cells has implicated neural stem cells (NSCs), a minor precursor population restricted to germinal zones, as a potential source of gliomas. In this review, we focus on the relationship between oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), the largest population of cycling glial progenitors in the postnatal brain, and gliomagenesis. OPCs can give rise to gliomas, with signaling pathways associated with NSCs also playing key roles during OPC lineage development. Gliomas can also undergo a switch from progenitor- to stem-like phenotype after therapy, consistent with an OPC-origin even for stem-like gliomas. Future in-depth studies of OPC biology may shed light on the etiology of OPC-derived gliomas and reveal new therapeutic avenues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ilkhanizadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Miller
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Sandler Neurosciences Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Sandler Neurosciences Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frantz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Sandler Neurosciences Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery and Brain Tumor Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Sandler Neurosciences Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Electronic address: anders.persson@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Anders I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Persson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology; D005910:Glioma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Brain; Cancer; Glioblastoma; Glioma; Neural stem cell; Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell