The Spectrum of Molecular Pathways in Gliomas—An Up-to-Date Review

Abstract

During the last 20 years, molecular alterations have gained increasing significance in the diagnosis and biological assessment of tumors. Gliomas represent the largest group of tumors of the central nervous system, and the main aim of this review is to present the current knowledge on molecular pathways and their alterations in gliomas. A wide range of new insights has been gained, including evidence for the involvement of the WNT pathway or the hippo pathway in the pathobiology of gliomas, indicating a broad involvement of different pathways formerly not considered to play a central role in gliomas. Even new aspects of angiogenic, apoptotic, and metabolic pathways are presented, as well as the rapidly growing field of epigenetic processes, including non-coding RNAs. The two major conclusions drawn from the present review are the distinct interconnectivity of the whole spectrum of molecular pathways and the prominent role of non-coding RNAs, especially circular RNAs, in the regulation of specific targets. All these new insights are discussed, even considering the topic of the resistance to therapy of gliomas, along with aspects that are still incompletely understood, like the role of hydroxymethylation, or even ferroptosis, in the pathobiology of gliomas.

Multiple Administration of Dexamethasone Possesses a Deferred Long-Term Effect to Glycosylated Components of Mouse Brain

“…Various molecular mechanisms involved in the functional effects of GCs in gliomas are described in a recent review by Nafe and Hattingen [ 11 ]. These molecular mechanisms include angiogenic, apoptotic, and metabolic pathways such as Wnt and PI3K/AKT/PTEN, as well as regulators of epigenetic processes, including non-coding RNAs and microRNAs.…”

Fibronectin Type III Domain Containing 3B as a Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Biomarker for Glioblastoma

“…However, in contrast to specialized targeted therapies that have shown promise in the treatment of other types of cancer, these therapies have demonstrated limited efficacy in GBM. A significant challenge in developing targeted therapies for GBM is its heterogeneity, as there are many different molecular subtypes of GBM that respond differently to treatment [20][21][22]. Despite these limitations, due to the result of immunotherapy, which had been highly anticipated to be effective but failed in clinical trials, recent focuses in the development of GBM treatments have shifted to advanced personalized targeted therapies as well as vaccines, but both still require precise identification and selection of candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Silencing GMPPB Inhibits the Proliferation and Invasion of GBM via Hippo/MMP3 Pathways

“…In addition to well-established signaling pathways that have been characterized in the context of glioma genesis, such as PI3K/AKT/PTEN, EGFR, TP53, and RB1 [4][5][6][7], the influence of additional signaling pathways is increasingly being explored, including the Notch, Wnt, and Hippo pathways [8][9][10]. Some of these pathways, such as EGFR, have been tested as therapeutic targets [11,12]. Given the continued poor prognosis in patients with GBM, further investigation of additional signaling pathways and mechanisms that control GBM growth and invasion is needed to develop new therapies for significant improvement of clinical outcomes.…”