Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Patients whose tumors exhibit overexpression or amplification of the MYC oncogene (c-MYC) usually have an extremely poor prognosis, but there are no animal models of this subtype of the disease. Here we show that cerebellar stem cells expressing Myc and mutant Trp53 (p53) generate aggressive tumors following orthotopic transplantation. These tumors consist of large, pleiomorphic cells and resemble human MYC-driven MB at a molecular level. Notably, antagonists of PI3K/mTOR signaling, but not Hedgehog signaling, inhibit growth of tumor cells. These findings suggest that cerebellar stem cells can give rise to MYC-driven MB, and identify a novel model that can be used to test therapies for this devastating disease.
An animal model of MYC-driven medulloblastoma.
Specimen part
View SamplesTransfection of a Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) herpesvirus (KSHV) Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (KSHVBac36) into mouse bone marrow endothelial lineage cells generated a cell (mECK36) that induced KS-like tumors in mice. mECK36 formed KSHV-harboring vascularized spindle-cell sarcomas that were LANA+ and displayed a KSHV and host transcriptomes reminiscent of KS tumors.
In vivo-restricted and reversible malignancy induced by human herpesvirus-8 KSHV: a cell and animal model of virally induced Kaposi's sarcoma.
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