Transcriptional profiling of dividing tumor cells detects intratumor heterogeneity linked to cell proliferation in a brain tumor model

Intratumor heterogeneity is a primary feature of high-grade gliomas, complicating their therapy. As accumulating evidence suggests that intratumor heterogeneity is a consequence of cellular subsets with different cycling frequencies, we developed a method for transcriptional profiling of gliomas, using a novel technique to dissect the tumors into two fundamental cellular subsets, namely, the proliferating and non-proliferating cell fractions. The tumor fractions were sorted whilst maintaining their molecular integrity, by incorporating the thymidine analogue 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine into actively dividing cells.
Source: Molecular Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research