A wealth of knowledge exists regarding calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase (PDE1) in normal mammalian tissues. However, much remains to be known about the enzyme in human brain tumors (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM). PDE1 has not been investigated in GBM relative to normal brain and remains an important area of investigation. In this review, we have summarized the works that have been carried out in our laboratory on the potential role of PDE1 in GBM. In the normal brain, PDE1 is localized in all four principal parts of the brain: cerebrum, diencephalon, brainstem and cerebellum. Specifically, PDE1 is concentrated in anatomically distinct regions of the brain including the striatum, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, subiculum, Purkinjie cells, the external layer of the developing cerebellum and the cerebral cortex. In contrast, PDE1 is found to be very low in the GBM tissue compared to normal cerebral cortex tissue. However, the discovery of an inhibitor in the tumor tissue is interesting and definitely warrants further investigation, particularly, in relation to its possible interaction with PDE1.

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