Genetically engineered mouse models of astrocytoma: GEMs in the rough?

Abstract

Astrocytomas are the most common form of brain cancer and are essentially incurable due to their diffusely infiltrative nature. Mouse models of astrocytoma provide a useful system for understanding tumorigenesis of astrocytomas and for designing and testing new therapies. Although molecular genetic alterations have been characterized in human astrocytomas, many of the mice engineered with these mutations do not develop astrocytomas. Recently, successful modeling of astrocytoma in the mouse has suggested that the combination of molecular alterations, the cell type in which the alterations take place, and the strain background all play a role in generating a model of astrocytoma.