Researchers have discovered tumor-neuron interactions that regulate the growth of ependymoma brain tumors.
reveals the functional relevance of tumor-neuron interactions that regulate the growth of ependymoma brain tumor s. The study, conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, highlights how neuronal signaling, modifications in DNA-associated proteins and developmental programs are intertwined to drive malignancy in brain cancer.
Previous studies have shown in other types of brain tumors that brain activity surrounding the tumor can influence its growth."In the current study, we investigated whether brain activity played a role in ependymoma growth, specifically in a very aggressive type driven by a protein called ZFTA-RELA," said first author Hsiao-Chi Chen, a graduate student in the Deneen lab.
Interestingly, ependymoma cells carry a serotonin transporter, a molecule that imports serotonin within the cell."We were surprised to discover that serotonin enters ependymoma cells and binds to histone H3, a protein that is tightly associated with DNA," Chen said."Histone serotonylation, the addition of serotonin to histone, regulated tumor growth. Promoting it enhanced tumor growth while preventing it slowed down ependymoma growth in animal models.
The next experiments showed that ETV5 expression triggers changes in the 3D structure of chromatin, the combination of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes. The 3D changes prevent the activation of genes encoding neurotransmitters, molecules that mediate neural activity. The team focused on a neurotransmitter called neuropeptide Y and found that growing tumors have little NPY.
Other contributors to this work include Peihao He, Malcolm McDonald, Michael R. Williamson, Srinidhi Varadharajan, Brittney Lozzi, Junsung Woo, Dong-Joo Choi, Debosmita Sardar, Emmet Huang-Hobbs, Hua Sun, Siri Ippagunta, Antrix Jain, Ganesh Rao, Thomas E. Merchant, David W. Ellison, Jeffrey L. Noebels and Kelsey C. Bertrand. The authors are affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Cancer Lung Cancer Ovarian Cancer Neuroscience Brain Injury Brain-Computer Interfaces Learning Disorders
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