Funding outcome

Gliomas in children are an especially malignant type of brain tumour that currently cannot be treated with the same regimen as adult gliomas. A potential reason for the lack of successful treatment is that genes involved in children's brain development may be the cause of these gliomas. Chromosomes are structures that contain the basic genetic information in the form of genes for growth and development and are packaged with the help of proteins called histones. Many gliomas in children are due to mutations in genes that control this chromosomal packaging during brain development. Transcription factors are responsible for switching these genes on or off and this property can be taken advantage of when developing new treatments for children with gliomas. This project aims to first identify the involvement of a transcription factor known as Dlx-2 in normal brain development by altering the amount of Dlx-2, then identify the role of Dlx-2 in mice and human cells with the mutations that cause gliomas in children. The significance of this project is that it may serve as preliminary research to develop new treatments to effectively treat children with gliomas caused by histone mutations.