Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Upregulated functional gene expression programmes in tumour pericytes mark progression in patients with low-grade glioma

Oudenaarden, Clara LU ; Sjölund, Jonas LU and Pietras, Kristian LU orcid (2022) In Molecular Oncology 16(2). p.405-421
Abstract
Pericytes conceivably play important roles in the tumour microenvironment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by allowing for an aberrant vasculature and acting as a component in the perivascular niche that supports glioma stem-like cells. However, a lack of specific markers has hampered in-depth elucidation of the functional contribution of pericytes to GBM. This study provides a comprehensive computational biology approach to annotate pericyte marker genes in the GBM vasculature through integration of data from single-cell RNA-sequencing studies of both mouse and human tissue, as well as bulk tumour- and healthy-tissue gene expression data from patients with GBM. We identified distinct vascular- and immune-related gene expression programmes... (More)
Pericytes conceivably play important roles in the tumour microenvironment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by allowing for an aberrant vasculature and acting as a component in the perivascular niche that supports glioma stem-like cells. However, a lack of specific markers has hampered in-depth elucidation of the functional contribution of pericytes to GBM. This study provides a comprehensive computational biology approach to annotate pericyte marker genes in the GBM vasculature through integration of data from single-cell RNA-sequencing studies of both mouse and human tissue, as well as bulk tumour- and healthy-tissue gene expression data from patients with GBM. We identified distinct vascular- and immune-related gene expression programmes in tumour pericytes that we assessed for association with GBM characteristics and patient survival. Most compellingly, pericyte gene signatures that were upregulated in tumours compared to normal brain tissue were indicative of progression of low-grade gliomas into high-grade glioma, suggested by a markedly shorter overall survival. Our results underline the functional importance of tumour pericytes in low-grade glioma and may serve as a starting point for efforts for precision targeting of pericytes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Pericytes, High-grade glioma, Tumor microenvironment, Bioinformatics
in
Molecular Oncology
volume
16
issue
2
pages
405 - 421
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85107218560
  • pmid:34018679
ISSN
1574-7891
DOI
10.1002/1878-0261.13016
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
137b9207-8b05-4da0-8a26-70900a0f404f
date added to LUP
2021-05-31 12:34:19
date last changed
2022-06-29 22:56:57
@article{137b9207-8b05-4da0-8a26-70900a0f404f,
  abstract     = {{Pericytes conceivably play important roles in the tumour microenvironment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by allowing for an aberrant vasculature and acting as a component in the perivascular niche that supports glioma stem-like cells. However, a lack of specific markers has hampered in-depth elucidation of the functional contribution of pericytes to GBM. This study provides a comprehensive computational biology approach to annotate pericyte marker genes in the GBM vasculature through integration of data from single-cell RNA-sequencing studies of both mouse and human tissue, as well as bulk tumour- and healthy-tissue gene expression data from patients with GBM. We identified distinct vascular- and immune-related gene expression programmes in tumour pericytes that we assessed for association with GBM characteristics and patient survival. Most compellingly, pericyte gene signatures that were upregulated in tumours compared to normal brain tissue were indicative of progression of low-grade gliomas into high-grade glioma, suggested by a markedly shorter overall survival. Our results underline the functional importance of tumour pericytes in low-grade glioma and may serve as a starting point for efforts for precision targeting of pericytes.}},
  author       = {{Oudenaarden, Clara and Sjölund, Jonas and Pietras, Kristian}},
  issn         = {{1574-7891}},
  keywords     = {{Pericytes; High-grade glioma; Tumor microenvironment; Bioinformatics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{405--421}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Molecular Oncology}},
  title        = {{Upregulated functional gene expression programmes in tumour pericytes mark progression in patients with low-grade glioma}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.13016}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/1878-0261.13016}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}