The impact of MEIS1 TALE homeodomain transcription factor knockdown on glioma stem cell growth

Myeloid ecotropic virus insertion site 1 ( ) is a HOX co-factor necessary for organ development and normal hematopoiesis. Recently, has been linked to the development and progression of various cancers. However, its role in gliomagenesis particularly on glioma stem cells (GSCs) remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that is highly upregulated in GSCs compared to normal, and glioma cells and to its differentiated counterparts. Inhibition of expression by shRNA significantly reduced GSC growth in both and experiments. On the other hand, integrated transcriptomics analyses of glioma datasets revealed that expression is correlated to cell cycle-related genes. Clinical data analysis revealed that expression is elevated in high-grade gliomas, and patients with high levels have poorer overall survival outcomes. The findings suggest that is a prognostic biomarker for glioma patients and a possible target for developing novel therapeutic strategies against GBM.