Here, we have shown that STAT6 is epigenetically silenced in some cases of malignant glioblastoma, which facilitates cancer cell survival in a hypoxic microenvironment.
Lastly, a genome-wide expression microarray analysis was performed to compare gene expression in wild-type GBM cells to expression in stable STAT6 knockdown clones.
GG genotype of STAT64610A/G was a significant risk factor compared with AA in glioblastoma (adjusted OR=1.856, 95%CI=1.153-2.987, p=0.011, corrected p=0.044).
Here, we show that IL-4, which activates Stat6 in normal human astrocytes and in a variety of other cells, induces an aberrant activation of Stat3 in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells but not in normal human astrocytes.