Gene expression profiling of Sox2+ Patched1+/- medulloblastoma cells

Only a minority of medulloblastoma cells can self-renew and sustain tumor growth. In the Patched1+/- mouse model, these cells are quiescent and express the stem cell marker Sox2. We sought to define the gene expression profiling of these cells to gain insight into the molecular pathways that govern this population. Sox2-expressing and Sox2-negative cells were isolated from primary Sox2-eGFP;Patched1+/- tumors as GFP+ or GFP- tumors, respectively. Sox2-eGFP; Patched1+/- mice were sacrificed at the first sign of a brain tumor and their tumors freshly dissected in PBS. Using flow-cytometry, tumors were depleted of CD45+ and Ter119+ cells to remove microglia and hematopoeitic-derived cells, then highly purified Sox2-eGFP+ and Sox2-eGFP- cells were isolated for gene expression profiling