ASCL1 and cancer: Given the importance of understanding the dynamics of TFs in modulating the stem cell state [17] and knowing that GBM cancer stem cells (CSCs) are enriched for helix-loop-helix (HLH) and sex-determining region Y (SRY)-containing TFs when compared to traditional glioma cell lines (GCLs) [18], we set out to investigate the subgroup-specific function of the PN TF Achaete-scute homolog 1 (ASCL1).