OLIG2 [SEP] found in taxon
importance in cancer research, particularly in brain tumors and leukemia. OLIG2 is universally expressed in glioblastoma and other diffuse gliomas (astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas), and is a useful positive diagnostic marker of these brain tumors. In particular, OLIG2 is selectively expressed in a subgroup of glioma cells that are highly tumorigenic, and is shown to be required for proliferation of human glioma cells implanted in the brain of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice.
Though the molecular mechanism behind this tumorigenesis is not entirely clear, more studies
In a study using the U12-1 cell line for controlled expression of OLIG2, researchers showed that OLIG2 can suppress the proliferation of U12-1 by transactivating the "p27" gene and can inhibit the motility of the cell by activating RhoA.
Besides glioma, OLIG2 is also involved in leukemogenesis. The "Olig2" gene was actually first identified in a study in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in which the expression of OLIG2 was found elevated after t(14;21)(q11.2;q22) chromosomal translocation. The overexpression of OLIG2 was later shown present