Brain Tumor Markers

Don’t overthink it, use Proteintech’s unmatched reagents to study brain tumors in more detail


Introduction

Gliomas are primary tumors of the central nervous system that arise from the supportive tissue of the brain. They can be classified as astrocytomas, ependymomas, or oligodendromas based on the cell of origin. About half of all glioma cases end up progressing to stage IV tumors known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). While less common than other cancers, GBM is one of the most aggressive and devastating, with five-year survival rates as low as 6%. It is additionally very difficult to treat due to the presence of drug-resistant glioma stem cells that have the capability to reinitiate tumors even after surgery or courses of radiation or chemotherapy. The development of more targeted therapies for GBM, will likely be dependent upon the identification of critical biomarkers that provide a window into better understanding disease origins and progression. Proteintech’s cancer and neuroscience research portfolios offer numerous products against both well established and emerging targets to help researchers study the more than 100 different types of tumors arising in the brain.

 

Featured Markers

GFAP

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a well-established marker for astrocytoma. As it is typically expressed in mature astrocytes, GFAP has been historically used to identify early-stage gliomas that are at a more-differentiated state. Recent studies though, have shown that GFAP can also be expressed by neural stem cells and therefore can be used to identify glioma stemness, often a feature of malignant and radioresistant brain tumors. Proteintech’s GFAP antibodies, available in primary and fluorescent-dye conjugated formats, have been collectively cited nearly 500 times by researchers across the globe and are the perfect choice for IHC and IF experiments in human, mouse, and rat brain tissue.

Immunofluorescent staining of rat brain using Proteintech's CoraLite Plus 488 GFAP antibody (CL488-16825, green), CoraLite 594 MAP2 antibody (CL594-17490, red), and DAPI (blue)

IF staining of rat brain using CoraLite Plus 488 GFAP antibody (CL488-16825, green), CoraLite 594 MAP2 antibody (CL594-17490, red), and DAPI (blue)

 

Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human gliomas tissue slide using 60190-1-Ig (GFAP Antibody) at dilution of 1:5000 (under 10x lens).

  

IL-13RA2

The IL-13 receptor is expressed in a variety of tumors including those of the pancreas, ovaries, breast, and colon. It has also been found to be significantly overexpressed in glioma and other brain tumors compared to normal brain tissue. IL-13RA2 is specifically a high affinity binding receptor for IL-13 and results in downstream activation of the AP-1 transcription factor which promotes cell proliferation, invasiveness, and angiogenesis. Increased IL-13RA2 expression in gliomas has been linked to metastasis and poor long-term survival. Due to these disease promoting roles, IL-13RA2 is being increasingly evaluated as therapeutic target for various glioma treatment modalities, including CAR-T.

Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human gliomas using Proteintech's IL13RA2 antibody (11059-1-AP) at dilution of 1:50.

Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human gliomas using 11059-1-AP (IL13RA2 antibody) at dilution of 1:50.

 

Sox2

Glioma stem cells form one of the major hurdles to successfully treating glioma because their stemlike properties often confer a degree of radio resistance and allow for re-initiation of tumor growth. Sox2, a transcription factor that is required for the maintenance and self-renewal of embryonic and neural stem cells, is often associated with the gene signature of several cancer stem cells. Its expression is notably amplified in glioblastoma, with up to 80% of cells in some tumors expressing this marker. Higher expression of SOX2 in gliomas is correlated with increased aggressiveness, proliferation, and malignancy. Targeting Sox2, along with other makers for pluripotency, may provide an ability to prevent tumor recurrence.

Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human gliomas tissue slide using Proteintech's SOX2 antibody (11064-1-AP) at dilution of 1:200 (under 10x lens)

Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human gliomas tissue slide using 11064-1-AP (SOX2 antibody) at dilution of 1:200 (under 10x lens).

 

Antibodies for Glioma Research

Function

Marker

PTG Catalog

Cancer Stemness

ALDH1A3

25167-1-AP

CD44

15675-1-AP

CD70

67749-1-Ig

c-Myc

10828-1-AP

Nanog

14295-1-AP

Nestin

19483-1-AP

OCT-4

11263-1-AP

Olig2

13999-1-AP

Sox2

11064-1-AP

S100A4

16105-1-AP

Cancer Type Differentiation

GFAP

16825-1-AP/60190-1-Ig

Synaptophysin

17785-1-AP

Cell Cycle, Growth, and Proliferation

CXCR4

11073-2-AP

EGFR

18986-1-AP

Fetuin-A

16571-1-AP

FTL

10727-1-AP

Histone H3

68345-1-Ig

Ki-67

27309-1-AP

P53

21891-1-AP

PTEN

22034-1-AP

SOCS3

14025-1-AP

VEGF

19003-1-AP

Cell Survival and Drug Resistance

CD133

18470-1-AP

DAXX

67879-1-Ig

GLI1

66905-1-Ig

GLTSCR2

27353-1-AP

IDH1

12332-1-AP

NPM1

60096-1-Ig

YKL-40

12036-1-AP

Invasion and Metastasis

Cathepsin D

55021-1-AP

IL-13RA2

11059-1-AP

L1CAM

20659-1-AP

LDHA

19987-1-AP

S100A8

15792-1-AP

S100A9

26992-1-AP

SURVIVIN

10508-1-AP

TNC

27789-1-AP

 

IHC Kits for Glioma Research

Function

Target

PTG Catalog

Cancer Stemness

CD44

KHC0030

Sox2

KHC0294

S100A4

KHC0108

Cancer Type Differentiation

GFAP

KHC0002

Synaptophysin

KHC0059

Cell Cycle, Growth, and Proliferation

CXCR4

KHC0485

EGFR

KHC0612

Fetuin-A

KHC0483

FTL

KHC0419

Histone H3

KHC0568

P53

KHC0079

PTEN

KHC0280

VEGF

KHC0735

Cell Survival and Drug Resistance

IDH1

KHC0541

NPM1

KHC0621

Invasion and Metastasis

Cathepsin D

KHC0374

L1CAM

KHC0112

S100A8

KHC0536

SURVIVIN

KHC0646

TNC

KHC0113

 

References

Bhardwaj, R., Suzuki, A., Leland, P., Joshi, B. H., & Puri, R. K. (2018). Identification of a novel role of IL-13Rα2 in human Glioblastoma multiforme: interleukin-13 mediates signal transduction through AP-1 pathway. Journal of Translational Medicine, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-018-1746-6

Chen, J., McKay, R. M., & Parada, L. F. (2012). Malignant Glioma: Lessons from Genomics, Mouse Models, and Stem Cells. Cell, 149(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.03.009

Lathia, J. D., Mack, S. C., Mulkearns-Hubert, E. E., Valentim, C. L. L., & Rich, J. N. (2015). Cancer stem cells in glioblastoma. Genes and Development, 29(12), 1203–1217. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.261982.115

Mansouri, S., Nejad, R., Karabork, M., Ekinci, C., Solaroglu, I., Aldape, K., & Zadeh, G. (2016). Sox2: regulation of expression and contribution to brain tumors. CNS Oncology, 5(3), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.2217/cns-2016-0001

Van Bodegraven, E. J., Van Asperen, J. V., Robe, P. A., & Hol, E. M. (2019). Importance of GFAP isoform‐specific analyses in astrocytoma. Glia, 67(8), 1417–1433. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.23594

Zeng, J., Zhang, J., Yang, Y., Wang, F., Jiang, H., Chen, H., Wu, H., Sai, K., & Hu, W. (2020). IL13RA2 is overexpressed in malignant gliomas and related to clinical outcome of patients. PubMed, 12(8), 4702–4714. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32913543