| Title: |
Low‐grade glial neoplasms of germ cell origin may represent maturation of embryonic‐type neuroectodermal elements |
| Authors: |
Lobo, João; Tavares, Nuno Tiago; Fernandes-Pontes, Fernanda; Jerónimo, Carmen; Henrique, Rui; Yang, Yiying; Snuderl, Matija; Hruby, Melissa; Idrees, Muhammad T.; Ulbright, Thomas M.; Acosta, Andres M. |
| Contributors: |
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine |
| Source: |
PMC |
| Publisher Information: |
Wiley |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis: IUPUI Scholar Works |
| Subject Terms: |
Biomarkers; Epigenetics; Glial tumours; microRNA‐371‐373; Teratoma; Testicular germ cell tumours |
| Description: |
Aims: Glial tumours of germ cell origin are relatively rare in men, occurring predominantly after chemotherapy. Many exhibit low-grade histological features within a spectrum that includes teratomas with mature glial/ganglioglial elements and pure low-grade tumours with glial/ganglioglial phenotype (LGGT) that resemble gliomas/gangliogliomas of the central nervous system. Because foci of glial differentiation are very often seen in association with embryonic-type neuroectodermal tumour (ENT), we hypothesise that LGGTs may represent differentiation of embryonic-type neuroectodermal elements of teratoma and/or ENT. Methods and results: To address this hypothesis, we compared LGGTs, ENT, non-teratomas, and teratomas using microRNA and DNA methylation analyses. Seven LGGTs underwent microRNA-371~373 analysis and genomic methylation profiling. Evidence of a prior or concurrent germ cell tumour component containing embryonic neuroectoderm (including overt ENT) was present in 4 LGGTs. None of the tested LGGTs were positive for miR-371a-3p, with three cases demonstrating low levels of expression within the so-called "grey zone". Unsupervised clustering based on microRNA-371~373 showed two clusters, one comprising non-teratomas and another including teratomas, ENTs, and LGGTs. Clustering according to top-differentially methylated probes did not demonstrate a clear separation according to histology. Genome-wide assessment of mean methylation levels using violin plots demonstrated that LGGT show a methylation profile "intermediate" between ENT and teratoma. Conclusions: These results suggest that LGGTs of germ cell origin result from the maturation of ENT components. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
Histopathology; https://hdl.handle.net/1805/53088 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/1805/53088 |
| Rights: |
Attribution 4.0 International ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.96E3CC2D |
| Database: |
BASE |