Scientists have identified a potential mechanism through which aggressive pediatric brain tumors called diffuse midline gliomas spread. The researchers found that immune cells within the brain, called microglia, produce proteins called fibronectin that help the tumors to progress.
The findings, published in the Cell Death & Disease journal, offer a possible mechanism that can be targeted in efforts to develop effective treatments against these tumors.
Conducted by a team at Karolinska Institutet, the researchers aimed to investigate what role microglia played in tumor progression and how these cells are impacted by the cancer. In their study, the team found that when microglia are exposed to diffuse midline glioma (DMG) cells, they respond by producing large quantities of fibronectin and other extracellular matrix proteins.
The team then analyzed single-cell data and samples from patients with DMG. The analysis revealed that microglia are primarily responsible for fibronectin presence in tumors. Prof. Bertrand Joseph says the study shows fibronectin makes these tumors more aggressive as a response to an invasion by this cancer.
In lab tests conducted by the team, it was found that microglia made it easier for DMG to spread to nearby tissues in the brain. When the researchers blocked fibronectin through either genetic or chemical means, tumor aggressiveness was curtailed.
The team then analyzed data on patient cohorts with a focus on fibronectin. They found that those patients with higher levels of these proteins tended to have worse outcomes in terms of disease progression and mortality. This opens the door to developing possible treatments against these tumors that currently have very limited treatment options that can move the dial in patients.
The scientists hope that with time, their findings could be used as a foundation upon which future therapies are developed to treat these tumors that currently have a very poor prognosis and are hard to treat. Fibronectin production offers promise as a therapeutic target against these gliomas.
As more insights are gained about the different mechanisms through which brain tumors develop and spread, it will get easier to develop multiple treatment approaches to target those mechanisms in order to limit disease onset or progression.
Fortunately, many companies, such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP), are focused on conducting research and development programs geared at commercializing novel treatments against not just brain tumors in adults but also pediatric brain tumors. It is only a matter of time before major breakthroughs are made through these efforts.
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