High-grade glioma is the most common primary brain cancer type and is characterized by invasive and fast growth. In a previous issue of Cancer Research, Simone and colleagues show that the two isoforms of the aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel may determine the fate of gliomas. Glioma cell lines expressing the M23-AQP4 isoform, which forms large aggregates of orthogonal arrays of particles, shrink and undergo apoptosis, whereas cell lines expressing the tetramer-forming M1-AQP4 isoform display higher activity of matrix metalloproteinases, making them more invasive. This study provides new insight on the role of AQP4 isoforms in the biology of gliomas.See related article by Simone and colleagues; Cancer Res 79(9):2182-94.
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