In this week's Journal, Assanah et al. tested the potential of glial progenitor cells as cells of origin for malignant glial tumors. The authors injected adult rat brain white matter with a retrovirus driving expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), and platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGF-B), a mitogen expressed by glial progenitors and in human gliomas. All injected animals developed brain tumors that resembled malignant glioblastomas. Interestingly, the tumors contained not only infected cells but also uninfected cells, suggesting a role for autocrine and paracrine messengers in tumor growth. Progenitors infected with a retrovirus expressing GFP alone did not cause tumors, rather these cells differentiated into oligodendrocytes. When two viruses expressing PDGF or GFP alone were coinjected, however, GFP-labeled progenitor cells in the tumor environment were recruited to proliferate and migrate, contributing to the tumor in what would appear to be a deadly game of follow the leader.

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News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
Marcela Assanah, Richard Lochhead, Alfred Ogden, Jeffrey Bruce, James Goldman, and Peter Canoll

Contact: Sara Harris

Society for Neuroscience