Pathway Analysis in Mouse Model for Astrocytoma via Systems Biology Approach

高级别星形细胞瘤是最常见的脑恶性肿瘤，治疗方案有限，且已证实与一般较差的临床结果相关。因此，提高对疾病病因学的了解代表了开发创新诊断和治疗策略的有希望的途径。目前的提案包括CAPR （Van Dyke博士的临床前研究中心），UNC （Ryan Miller博士的实验室）和ISB （Leroy Hood博士的实验室）之间更广泛合作的初步试点阶段，以表征星形细胞形成过程的分子特征和途径，并确定有希望的早期预后标志物癌症转化和对治疗的反应。为此，该项目利用了小鼠诱导性疾病启动的优势，干扰和/或监测癌变过程的能力，以及无偏系统生物学方法的广泛力量。随着疾病的进展，各种先进的分子技术将监测组织和血清中的基因组、转录组、蛋白质组和代谢动力学。在可能的情况下，将利用跨物种数据分析来确定研究结果与人类疾病的相关性。在过去的一年里，CAPR的科学家们开发并优化了育种方法，以维持高级别星形细胞瘤和胶质母细胞瘤的一种可诱导遗传模型的群体。该模型具有复杂的遗传设置，混合了几个突变等位基因，使pRb/p105/p130、K-ras和PTEN/Akt通路单独或以不同的组合功能失调。已经设计并验证了一套快速识别具有所需等位基因组合的个体动物所需的检测方法，以及多种组织学、分子生物学和基于体内成像的临床相关终点，以监测疾病进展阶段。例如，CAPR采用了一种升级的方法，允许通过MRI方式同时对多个动物进行成像，使整个实验队列的多次纵向成像成为可能。在另一项实验中，CAPR的临床前评估小组利用人类胶质瘤细胞系或从荷瘤动物中分离的原代GBM细胞，建立了原位颅内异种移植模型。这些正位模型已用于多个合作项目，旨在通过高通量体外筛选策略（例如与Reilly博士合作的Schweinfurthins）确定纳米技术化合物和候选药物在脑组织中的生物利用度研究。

High grade astrocytomas represent the most common brain malignancies with limited therapeutic options available and proven association with generally poor clinical outcomes. Improved understanding of disease etiology thus represents a promising avenue for developing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The current proposal comprises the initial pilot phase of a broader collaborative effort among CAPR (Dr. Van Dyke's Preclinical Research Center), UNC (Dr. Ryan Miller's lab) and ISB (Dr. Leroy Hood's lab) to characterize molecular signatures and pathways underlying the astrocytomagenesis process and to identify promising early prognostic markers of cancerous transformation and response to treatment. To this end, the project leverages the advantages of inducible disease initiation in the mouse, the ability to perturb and/or monitor the carcinogenesis process, and the extensive power of unbiased systems biology approach. A variety of state-of-the-art molecular technologies will monitor genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolom dynamics in tissues and blood serum as the disease progresses. Where possible, a cross-species data analysis will be exploited to determine the relevance of findings to human disease. During the past year, CAPR scientists developed and optimized breeding approaches to maintain the colony of one-of-a-kind inducible genetic model for high-grade astrocytoma and glioblastoma. The model features a complex genetic setup that mingles several mutant alleles to render dysfunctional pRb/p105/p130, K-ras, and PTEN/Akt pathways alone or in different combinations. The required set of assays to rapidly identify individual animals with desired allelic combinations has been designed and validates, along with multiple histology-, molecular biology-, and in vivo imaging-based clinically relevant endpoints to monitor disease progression stage. To exemplify, an upgraded approach allowing simultaneous imaging of multiple animals by MRI modality has been adopted by CAPR making feasible multiple longitudinal imaging sessions of the entire experimental cohort. In another line of experiment, the Preclinical Evaluation group of CAPR elaborated an orthotopic intracranial xenograft models employing either human glioma cell lines or primary GBM cells isolated from tumor bearing animals. These orthotopic models have been utilized in several collaborative projects aimed at bioavailability studies in brain tissue for nanotechnology compounds and drug candidates identified through high-throughput in vitro screening strategies (e.g. Schweinfurthins, in collaboration with Dr. Reilly).