Histone modification and gene expression profiling in primary glioblastoma multiforme tumors. Homo sapiens

The primary goal of this study was to collect and analyze genomic data from primary glioblastoma multiforme tumors. Between 2012 and 2014, our collaborators at St David's Medical Center (SDMC) obtained informed consent from patients undergoing surgery to remove a tumor in the brain. After consent was obtained, specimens were removed from the operating suite and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Tumors were analyzed if they were a grade III (anaplastic astrocytoma) or grade IV glioma (glioblastoma multiforme). Tumors were safely transported from SDMC to UT Austin, then weighed and homogenized. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed for 7 proteins in each tumor (histone modifications H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K9ac, H3K9me3, H3K27ac, H3K27me3, and the multifunctional insulator binding protein CTCF) and no-antibody input was also sequenced. An aliquot of tumor material was set aside for isolation of total RNA.