Ror1 plays a crucial role in cancer progression by regulating cell proliferation and migration. Ror1 is expressed abundantly in various types of cancer cells and cancer stem-like cells. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating expression of Ror1 in these cells remain largely unknown. Ror1 and its putative ligand Wnt5a are expressed highly in malignant gliomas, especially in glioblastomas, and the extents of Ror1 expression are correlated positively with poorer prognosis in patients with gliomas. We show that Ror1 expression can be upregulated in glioblastoma cells under spheroid culture, but not adherent culture conditions. Notch and hypoxia signaling pathways have been shown to be activated in spheroid-forming glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs), and Ror1 expression in glioblastoma cells is indeed suppressed by inhibiting either Notch or hypoxia signaling. Meanwhile, either forced expression of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD) in or hypoxic culture of glioblastoma cells result in enhanced expression of Ror1 in the cells. Consistently, we show that both NICD and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha bind to upstream regions within the Ror1 gene more efficiently in GSCs under spheroid culture conditions. Furthermore, we provide evidence indicating that binding of Wnt5a to Ror1, upregulated by Notch and hypoxia signaling pathways in GSCs, might promote their spheroid-forming ability. Collectively, these findings indicate for the first time that Notch and hypoxia signaling pathways can elicit a Wnt5a-Ror1 axis through transcriptional activation of Ror1 in glioblastoma cells, thereby promoting their stem cell-like property.
