This gene is turned on during development in fetal brains. Oligophrenin-1 is part of a cell signal pathway, and was also present in tissue next to the tumor. Two other genes were expressed only in the tumors, and thus show promise as specific markers of brain cancer, the researchers write in the International Journal of Oncology . Other researchers have reported that alterations in chromosome 10 may be a potential prognostic indicator in some brain cancers. The fourth gene codes for collagenase PM5 and could be involved in severing the protein threads that 'tie' cells in place.
Cancers dissolve the proteins that hold cells together in order to spread. . . .
Ljubimova, J. et al . Gene expression abnormalities in human glial tumors identified by gene array. Int J Oncol .