SRA

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a highly malignant and heterogeneous brain tumor, contains various types of tumor and non-tumor cells. Whether GBM cells can trans-differentiate into non-neural cell types, including mural cells or endothelial cells, to support tumor growth and invasion remains controversial. Here we generated two genetic GBM models de novo in immunocompetent mouse brains, mimicking essential pathological and molecular features of human GBMs. Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that patterns of copy-number variations (CNVs) of mural cells and endothelial cells were distinct from those of GBM cells, indicating discrete origins of GBM cells and vascular components. Furthermore, lineage tracing and transplantation studies demonstrated that, although blood vessels in GBM brains underwent drastic remodeling, GBM cells did not give rise to non-neural cell types in the brain. Intriguingly, GBM cells could randomly express mesenchymal markers, including those for mural cells, during gliomagenesis. Most importantly, single-cell CNV analysis of human GBM specimens also strongly suggested that GBM cells and vascular cells are separate lineages. Instead, non-neural cell types expanded by proliferation during tumorigenesis. Therefore, cross-lineage trans-differentiation of GBM cells is very unlikely to occur during gliomagenesis. Our findings advance understanding of cell lineage dynamics during gliomagenesis, and have implications for targeted treatment of GBMs. Overall design: GBM cells mRNA profiles of NPCTKO and NSCHRas-shp53 mouse models were generated by deep sequencing, in duplicate, using Illumina NovaSeq 6000.