Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Isolation, Enrichment, and Maintenance of Medulloblastoma Stem Cells
Published on: September 1, 2010
Sonic Hedgehog pathway is essential for neuroblastoma cell proliferation and tumor growth
Lunshan Xu1, Xiangwei Wang, Jianhua Wan
1Department of Neurosurgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, No.10, Changjiang Zhilu, Daping, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400042, China.
Abstract:
Accumulated evidence suggests a major role for the activation of the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway in the development of neural crest stem cells that give rise to the sympathetic nervous system. We therefore investigated the involvement of SHH signaling in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma (NB), a common childhood malignant tumor of the sympathetic nervous system. Inhibition of SHH signaling by cyclopamine induced apoptosis and blocked proliferation in all major types of NB cells, and abrogated the tumorigenicity of NB cells. Our study has revealed a molecular mechanism for the persistent activation of the SHH pathway which promotes the development of NB, and suggests a new approach for the treatment of this childhood malignant tumor.
Related Concept Videos
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Cancer

