Transcriptome signatures associated with meningioma progression

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor of adults. The majority are benign (WHO grade I), with a mostly indolent course; 20% of them (WHO grade II and III) are, however, considered aggressive and require a more complex management. WHO grade II and III tumors are heterogeneous and, in some cases, can develop from a prior lower grade meningioma, although most arise de novo. Mechanisms leading to progression or implicated in de novo grade II and III tumorigenesis are poorly understood. RNA-seq was used to profile the transcriptome of grade I, II, and III meningiomas and to identify genes that may be involved in progression. Bioinformatic analyses showed that grade I meningiomas that progress to a higher grade are molecularly different from those that do not. As such, we identify GREM2, a regulator of the BMP pathway, and the snoRNAs SNORA46 and SNORA48, as being significantly reduced in meningioma progression. Additionally, our study has identified several novel fusion transcripts that are differentially present in meningiomas, with grade I tumors that did not progress presenting more fusion transcripts than all other tumors. Interestingly, our study also points to a difference in the tumor immune microenvironment that correlates with histopathological grade. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40478-019-0690-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.