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Molecular Consequences Of High Taz Expression In Gliomas, Visweswaran Ravikumar

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Diffuse high grade gliomas are complex and lethal neoplasms of the adult central nervous system that are driven by a range of genetic and epigenetic alterations. Molecular classification of these tumors has identified different transcriptional subtypes, the most notable being Proneural (PN) and Mesenchymal (MES) classes. The most aggressive forms of the disease have a Mesenchymal expression signature, with reported PN-to-MES transition occurring with tumor progression. Master regulatory analysis has identified the transcriptional co-activator TAZ (WWTR1) as a major driver of the MES transition. Overexpression of this single protein in glioma stem cells has been shown to drive a transition …