Differential expression of Notch family members in astrocytomas and medulloblastomas

Notch signaling pathway plays an integral role in determining cell fates in development. Growing evidence demonstrates that Notch signaling pathway has versatile effects in tumorigenesis depending on the tumor type, grade and stage. Notch signaling pathway is deregulated in some brain tumors. To examine the differential expression of Notch family members (Notch1, 2, 3, 4) in human astrocytomas and medulloblastomas, and to evaluate their roles in the development of both tumor types. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis were used to detect Notch1, 2, 3, 4 expression in tissue microarray and freshly resected tissue samples of normal brain, astrocytomas and medulloblastomas. Notch family members were not expressed or barely detectable in normal brain tissues. Notch1, 3, 4 were highly expressed but Notch2 was not expressed in astrocytomas. The percentage of immunopositive tumor cells and level of Notch1 expression was increased with tumor grade. In addition, overexpression of Notch2 was detected in medulloblastomas in contrast to low or no expression of Notch1, 3, 4. Differential expression of Notch1, 2, 3, 4 is detected in astrocytomas and medulloblastomas, that may be related to their different roles playing in the development of brain tumors.