Genetic drivers of metastatic dissemination in sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma
ACTA NEUROPATHOLOGICA COMMUNICATIONS
Authors: Jenkins, Noah C.; Kalra, Ricky R.; Dubuc, Adrian; Sivakumar, Walavan; Pedone, Carolyn A.; Wu, Xiaochong; Taylor, Michael D.; Fults, Daniel W.
Abstract
Leptomeningeal dissemination (LMD), the metastatic spread of tumor cells via the cerebrospinal fluid to the brain and spinal cord, is an ominous prognostic sign for patients with the pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma. The need to reduce the risk of LMD has driven the development of aggressive treatment regimens, which cause disabling neurotoxic side effects in long-term survivors. Transposon-mediated mutagenesis studies in mice have revealed numerous candidate metastasis genes. Understanding how these genes drive LMD will require functional assessment using in vivo and cell culture models of medulloblastoma. We analyzed two genes that were sites of frequent transposon insertion and highly expressed in human medulloblastomas: Arnt (aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator) and Gdi2 (GDP dissociation inhibitor 2). Here we show that ectopic expression of Arnt and Gdi2 promoted LMD in mice bearing Sonic hedgehog (Shh)-induced medulloblastomas. We overexpressed Arnt and Gdi2 in a human medulloblastoma cell line (DAOY) and an immortalized, nontransformed cell line derived from mouse granule neuron precursors (SHH-NPD) and quantified migration, invasiveness, and anchorage-independent growth, cell traits that are associated with metastatic competence in carcinomas. In SHH-NPD cells. Arnt and Gdi2 stimulated all three traits. In DAOY cells, Arnt had the same effects, but Gdi2 stimulated invasiveness only. These results support a mechanism whereby Arnt and Gdi2 cause cells to detach from the primary tumor mass by increasing cell motility and invasiveness. By conferring to tumor cells the ability to proliferate without surface attachment, Arnt and Gdi2 favor the formation of stable colonies of cells capable of seeding the leptomeninges.
Spin fluctuations in the quasi-two-dimensional Heisenberg ferromagnet GdI2 studied by electron spin resonance
PHYSICAL REVIEW B
Authors: Deisenhofer, J; von Nidda, HAK; Loidl, A; Ahn, K; Kremer, RK; Simon, A
Abstract
The spin dynamics of GdI2 have been investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The temperature dependences of the resonance field and ESR intensity are well described by the model for the spin susceptibility proposed by Eremin [Phys. Rev. B 64, 064425 (2001)]. The temperature dependence of the resonance linewidth shows a maximum similar to the electrical resistance and is discussed in terms of scattering processes between conduction electrons and localized spins.