LGR5 is a proneural factor and is regulated by OLIG2 in glioma stem-like cells

The biological functional roles of LGR5 (leucine-rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 5, also known as GPR49), a novel potential marker for stem-like cells in glioblastoma (GSCs), is poorly acknowledged. Here, we demonstrated that LGR5 was detected in glioblastoma tissues and GSCs. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that LGR5 is closely related to neurogenesis and neuronal functions, and preferentially expressed in Proneural subtype of GBMs. Furthermore, LGR5 is regulated by Proneural factor OLIG2, which is important for both neurogenesis and GSC maintenance. Biological experiments in GSC cells validated the bioinformatics analysis results and revealed that LGR5 regulated the tumor sphere formation capacity, an important stem cell property for GSCs. Therefore, LGR5 expression may be functionally correlated with the neurogenic competence, and be regulated by OLIG2 in GSCs.