Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jan 31:2020:9274016.
doi: 10.1155/2020/9274016. eCollection 2020.

The Role of Rho GTPases in Motility and Invasion of Glioblastoma Cells

Houssam Al-Koussa  1 , Oula El Atat  1 , Leila Jaafar  1 , Hagop Tashjian  1 , Mirvat El-Sibai  1
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Rho GTPases in Motility and Invasion of Glioblastoma Cells

Houssam Al-Koussa et al. Anal Cell Pathol (Amst). .

Abstract

Astrocytomas are primary malignant brain tumors that originate from astrocytes. Grade IV astrocytoma or glioblastoma is a highly invasive tumor that occur within the brain parenchyma. The Rho family of small GTPases, which includes Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA, is an important family whose members are key regulators of the invasion and migration of glioblastoma cells. In this review, we describe the role played by the Rho family of GTPases in the regulation of the invasion and migration of glioblastoma cells. Specifically, we focus on the role played by RhoA, Rac1, RhoG, and Cdc42 in cell migration through rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton, cell adhesion, and invasion. Finally, we highlight the importance of potentially targeting Rho GTPases in the treatment of glioblastoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Abou-Antoun T. J., Hale J. S., Lathia J. D., Dombrowski S. M. Brain cancer stem cells in adults and children: cell biology and therapeutic implications. Neurotherapeutics. 2017;14(2):372–384. doi: 10.1007/s13311-017-0524-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ostrom Q. T., Gittleman H., de Blank P. M., et al. American Brain Tumor Association adolescent and young adult primary brain and central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2008-2012. Neuro-Oncology. 2016;18(1):i1–i50. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/nov297. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Furnari F. B., Fenton T., Bachoo R. M., et al. Malignant astrocytic glioma: genetics, biology, and paths to treatment. Genes & Development. 2007;21(21):2683–2710. doi: 10.1101/gad.1596707. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Purow B. W., Schiff D. Glioblastoma genetics: in rapid flux. Discovery Medicine. 2010;9(45):125–131. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu X., Chong Y., Tu Y., et al. CRM1/XPO1 is associated with clinical outcome in glioma and represents a therapeutic target by perturbing multiple core pathways. Journal of Hematology & Oncology. 2016;9(1):p. 108. doi: 10.1186/s13045-016-0338-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Substances