Choroid Plexus Tumors

The choroid plexus is a choroidal tissue plexus in the ventricles consisting of the soft meninges and their repeatedly branching blood vessels together with the ventricular epithelium. It is the main structure that produces cerebrospinal fluid and consists of a large number of capillaries and villi epithelial cells separated from the ventricles, through which the plasma filters to form a cerebrospinal liquid and, on the other hand, through which the components of the cerebrospinal fluid enter and exit.

Choroid plexus tumors (CPT) usually occur in the ventricles of the brain. The cerebrospinal fluid produced by choroid plexus tissue surrounds the brain and spinal cord, so as choroid plexus tumors grow, they block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.CPT can be classified as benign or malignant.

• Choroid plexus papillomas (CPP) are the most common. Approximately 80% of choroid plexus tumors are CPP. these tumors are slow growing and have a low likelihood of spreading.
• Choroid plexus carcinoma (CPC) is a cancerous form of choroid plexus tumor. About 10-20% of choroid plexus tumors are CPCs, which grow more rapidly and are more likely to spread to other tissues through the cerebrospinal fluid.

• CPC mouse model

The current treatment of choice for CPC is maximal surgical resection, followed by radiation and chemotherapy treatment, but the prognosis is poor. Given its rarity, the small number of CPC cases, the paucity of clinical data, and the lack of corresponding animal models for research, therapeutic progress has been slow. Alfa Cytology has attempted to actively develop a corresponding mouse model of CPC by activating the Myc oncogene in mouse neural stem or progenitor cells and deleting the Trp53 oncogene and using it to help customers screen for new potential drugs that may help in treatment.

• Gene decoding

Gene decoding can be used to determine whether a unique gene sequence change within a sample is associated with the development of CPP, by examining the presence of a reported locus in the sample that causes CPP. We help our clients identify differential expressions of genes that play a role in the occurrence of CPT to infer targets associated with the pathogenesis of CPT. These include platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), transcription factor TWIST1, Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1), transmembrane protein Shrew-1 (AJAP1), transcriptional repressor BCL (B-cell lymphoma) 2-associated transcription factor 1 (BCLAF1), transient receptor potential channel (TRPM3), and interleukin-6 signal transducer (IL6ST).

• Genetic evaluation: to assess the incidence of mutations.
• Sequencing

We can support you in RNA sequencing of cells and nuclei from different sources of CPT samples to compare their gene expression profiles and determine which genes are turned on or off. This allows you to classify different cell types and subtypes in samples from different sources. The cellular and spatial "atlas" of CPT thus constructed in different samples provides a benchmark to accelerate future studies on the lifelong regulation of this small but influential structure.

Alfa Cytology focuses on choroid plexus tumorigenesis and progression, and we seek to provide you with deeper insights and accelerate your research in this area through a variety of solutions. Please feel free to contact us to submit your research needs.