Astroglial cells play an important role in orchestrating the migration and positioning of neurons during central nervous system development. Primary astroglia, as well as astrocytoma cells will extend long stable processes when co-cultured with granule neurons. In order to determine the function of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the major intermediate filament protein in astroglia ...

The product of AXIN2, a component of Wnt signalling, plays a role in tumorigenesis and is dysregulated in cancer cells. In order to determine whether the AXIN2 polymorphism is a risk factor for astrocytoma, we analysed eight polymorphic regions of this gene in 100 astrocytoma patients compared to 100 healthy controls in a Turkish population using PCR-RFLP methods. For the Exon1-148 T/C, Exon1-4...

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament protein expressed in astrocytes and neural stem cells. The GFAP gene is alternatively spliced, and expression of GFAP is highly regulated during development, on brain damage, and in neurodegenerative diseases. GFAPα is the canonical splice variant and is expressed in all GFAP-positive cells. In the human brain, the alternatively...

The PIM1 protein is an important regulator of cell proliferation, the cell cycle, apoptosis, and metabolism in various human cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are powerful post-transcriptional gene regulators that function through translational repression or transcript destabilization. Therefore, we aimed to identify whether a close relationship exists between PIM1 and miRNAs. PIM1 protein levels and...

Sera from 30 patients with astrocytoma were tested for antibody reacting with cell surface antigens of cultured autologous astrocytoma cells. Ten percent of the patients had antibody detectable by mixed hemadsorption assays, approximately 50% by immune adherence and protein A assays, and 100% by anti-C3-mixed hemadsorption assays. Absorption analysis of reactive sera with autologous, allogeneic...

Previous research usually focused on single protein or gene in tumor development, actually highly heterogeneous nature and different signaling pathways largely contribute to tumor progression and tumor patients' outcomes. Therefore, using combinatorial biomarkers to evaluate the prognostic features and guide management is gradually accepted and urgently needed. β-catenin is a well-known crucial...

OBJECTIVE The normal blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of tight junctions between endothelial cells and surrounding astrocyte foot processes. Breakdown of the physiological astrocyte-endothelial cell relationship occurs in adult metastatic and primary brain tumors. However, the astrocyte-endothelial cell relationship has not been studied in pediatric tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Utilizin...

OBJECTIVE To look for the impact of leak correction on correlation of perfusion indices with microvessel density (MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in astrocytomas. METHODS Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 64 patients with varying grades of astrocytoma. Perfusion indices (ie, relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) with and without leak corr...

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most serious malignant brain tumors and is characterized by resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Recent studies suggest that autophagy may play an important role not only in the regulation of cancer development and progression but also in determining the response of cancer cells to anticancer therapy. The purpose of the present study was to ass...

Platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFR) regulate several processes in normal cells including cellular proliferation, differentiation and migration, and are widely expressed in a variety of malignancies. In astrocytoma, PDGF ligand and receptor are often overexpressed and PDGFR activity deregulation has been linked to pathogenesis. The issue of the functional capacity of PDGFR has only ...