- Cosset, Érika;
- Ilmjärv, Sten;
- Dutoit, Valérie;
- Elliott, Kathryn;
- von Schalscha, Tami;
- Camargo, Maria F;
- Reiss, Alexander;
- Moroishi, Toshiro;
- Seguin, Laetitia;
- Gomez, German;
- Moo, Jung-Soon;
- Preynat-Seauve, Olivier;
- Krause, Karl-Heinz;
- Chneiweiss, Hervé;
- Sarkaria, Jann N;
- Guan, Kun-Liang;
- Dietrich, Pierre-Yves;
- Weis, Sara M;
- Mischel, Paul S;
- Cheresh, David A
While molecular subtypes of glioblastoma (GBM) are defined using gene expression and mutation profiles, we identify a unique subpopulation based on addiction to the high-affinity glucose transporter, Glut3. Although Glut3 is a known driver of a cancer stem cell phenotype, direct targeting is complicated by its expression in neurons. Using established GBM lines and patient-derived stem cells, we identify a subset of tumors within the "proneural" and "classical" subtypes that are addicted to aberrant signaling from integrin αvβ3, which activates a PAK4-YAP/TAZ signaling axis to enhance Glut3 expression. This defined subpopulation of GBM is highly sensitive to agents that disrupt this pathway, including the integrin antagonist cilengitide, providing a targeted therapeutic strategy for this unique subset of GBM tumors.