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Quantitative Immunohistochemistry of the Cellular Microenvironment in Patient Glioblastoma Resections
Published on: July 31, 2017
Integrative bulk and single-cell analyses implicate ASL in MIF-associated myeloid programs in glioblastoma.
Wenjing Zhao1, Shenglan Li1, Wenbin Li2
1Department of Neuro-Oncology, Cancer Center, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Functional & Integrative Genomics
|July 8, 2026
Summary
Arginine metabolism, specifically ASL, is a prognostic biomarker in glioblastoma (GBM). High ASL expression correlates with poorer survival and links to immune cell activity in high-risk GBM.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Arginine metabolism plays a role in glioblastoma (GBM) progression and immune responses.
- Prognostic biomarkers linked to specific cellular contexts in GBM are needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize arginine metabolism-related genes as prognostic biomarkers in GBM.
- To investigate the cellular context and immune associations of identified biomarkers.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 18 arginine metabolism genes in TCGA GBM cohort using LASSO Cox regression.
- Validation in CGGA and GEO datasets; scRNA-seq analysis for cellular context.
- Pseudotime, RNA velocity, and CellChat analyses for myeloid cell dynamics.
Main Results:
- ASL, FAH, and NAGS were identified as prognostic candidates, with ASL being a key indicator in high-risk GBM (IDH-wildtype, 1p/19q non-codeletion).
- High ASL expression predicted shorter overall survival and showed strong prognostic discrimination.
- ASL expression and arginine metabolism were enriched in myeloid cells, correlating with immune signaling pathways (MIF, MHC-II, SPP1).
Conclusions:
- ASL is a significant prognostic biomarker for high-risk GBM, associated with specific molecular subtypes.
- ASL expression is linked to myeloid cell activity and immune communication within the GBM tumor microenvironment.
