Open AccessMetabolic determinants of stemness in medulloblastoma
Author(s) -
Paula Martín-Rubio,
Pilar Espiau-Romera,
Alba Royo-García,
Laia Caja,
Patricia Sancho
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
world journal of stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1948-0210
DOI - 10.4252/wjsc.v14.i8.587
Subject(s) - medulloblastoma , cancer research , anabolism , downregulation and upregulation , cancer stem cell , malignancy , metastasis , metabolic pathway , glycolysis , hedgehog , glutamine , biology , vismodegib , hedgehog signaling pathway , sonic hedgehog , cancer , medicine , bioinformatics , metabolism , biochemistry , signal transduction , amino acid , gene
Medulloblastomas (MBs) are the most prevalent brain tumours in children. They are classified as grade IV, the highest in malignancy, with about 30% metastatic tumours at the time of diagnosis. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of tumour cells that can initiate and support tumour growth. In MB, CSCs contribute to tumour initiation, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Metabolic differences among the different MB groups have started to emerge. Sonic hedgehog tumours show enriched lipid and nucleic acid metabolism pathways, whereas Group 3 MBs upregulate glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glutamine anabolism, and glut athione-mediated anti-oxidant pathways. Such differences impact the clinical behaviour of MB tumours and can be exploited therapeutically. In this review, we summarise the existing knowledge about metabolic rewiring in MB, with a particular focus on MB-CSCs. Finally, we highlight some of the emerging metabolism-based therapeutic strategies for MB.