Authors:
Elena Bazzoli, Teodoro Pulvirenti, Moritz C. Oberstadt, Fabiana Perna, Boyoung Wee, Nikolaus Schultz, Jason T. Huse, Elena I. Fomchenko, Francesca Voza, Viviane Tabar, Cameron W. Brennan, Lisa M. DeAngelis, Stephen D. Nimer, Eric C. Holland, and Massimo Squatrito
Summary:
High-grade gliomas are aggressive and uniformly fatal tumors, composed of a heterogeneous population of cells that include many with stem-cell-like properties. The acquisition of stem-like traits might contribute to glioma initiation, growth, and recurrence. Here we investigated the role of the transcription factor myeloid Elf-1 like factor (MEF, also known as ELF4) in gliomas. We found that MEF is highly expressed in both human and mouse glioblastomas and its absence impairs gliomagenesis in a PDGF-driven glioma mouse model. We show that modulation of MEF levels in both mouse neural stem cells and human glioblastoma cells has a significant impact on neurosphere formation. Moreover, we identify Sox2 as a direct downstream target of MEF. Taken together, our studies implicate MEF as a previously unrecognized gatekeeper gene in gliomagenesis that promotes stem cell characteristics through Sox2 activation.
Source:
Cell Stem Cell; Vol. 11, Issue 6, 836-844 (12/07/12)