We investigated whether increasing levels of tissue hypoxia, measured by the binding of EF5 [2-(2-nitro-1-H-imidazol-1-yl)-N-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl) acetamide] or by Eppendorf needle electrodes, were associated with tumor aggressiveness in patients with previously untreated glial brain tumors. We hypothesized that more extensive and severe hypoxia would be present in tumor cells from pati...

BACKGROUND Tumor heterogeneity is a major obstacle for finding effective treatment of Glioblastoma (GBM). Based on global expression analysis, GBM can be classified into distinct subtypes: Proneural, Neural, Classical and Mesenchymal. The signatures of these different tumor subtypes may reflect the phenotypes of cells giving rise to them. However, the experimental evidence connecting any specif...

Noonan syndrome (NS), an autosomal dominant disorder, is characterized by short stature, congenital heart defects, developmental delay, and facial dysmorphism. PTPN11 mutations are the most common cause of NS. PTPN11 encodes a non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase, SHP2. Hematopoietic malignancies and solid tumors are associated with NS. Among solid tumors, brain tumors have been described ...

Here, we demonstrated the differentiation potential of murine muscle-derived stem/progenitor cells (MDSPCs) toward myogenic, neuronal, and glial lineages. MDSPCs, following transplantation into a critical-sized sciatic nerve defect in mice, showed full regeneration with complete functional recovery of the injured peripheral nerve at 6 weeks post-implantation. However, several weeks after regene...

Diffuse gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors. The current World Health Organization (WHO) brain tumor classification (2007) uses exclusively morphological criteria to separate diffuse gliomas into three main subtypes: astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and mixed oligoastrocytoma. The WHO defines mixed oligoastrocytomas as tumors with dual glial cellular components (astrocytic and oligo...

Brain tumor segmentation is an important technique in computer-assisted diagnosis. To improve brain tumor diagnosis, it is necessary to use biochemical information provided by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Some of the challenges involved are determining how to combine multimodal signals such as proton MRS and morphological or structural images, then knowing how to use the combined info...

Cells tend to soften during cancer progression, suggesting that mechanical phenotyping could be used as a diagnostic or prognostic method. Here we investigate the cell mechanics of gliomas, brain tumors originate from glial cells progenitors. Using two microrheology techniques, single-cell parallel plates rheometer probe whole-cell and optical tweezers intracellular rheology, show discriminates...

The c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases (JNKs) have a role both in promoting apoptosis and tumorigenesis. The JNKs are encoded by three separate genes (JNK1, 2, and 3), which are spliced alternatively to create 10 JNK isoforms that are either M(r) 55,000 or 46,000 in size. However, the functional significance and distinct role for each splice variant remains unclear. We have noted previously that 86% ...

Background: Glial fibrillaryacidic protein (GFAP), an intermediate filament protein, is mainly expressed by astrocytes, but some other cells like enteric glia and non-myelinating Schwann cells can also express GFAP. GFAP elevation has been reported in some types of meningioma and malignant brain tumors. In the present study, we analyzed the association between serum levels of GFAP with meningio...