In the Matrix

In cancer, both the makeup of the tumour itself and its environment, including neighbouring cells and the extracellular matrix, the surrounding network of proteins and fibres, are important in determining how the disease progresses. For glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a devastating form of brain cancer characterised by highly invasive glioblastoma initiating cells (GICs), the extracellular matrix is especially important for understanding how these cells spread so rapidly through the brain. Traditional cell cultures can’t provide a realistic model of how GICs behave, so researchers have recently developed a sophisticated 3D network of synthetic fibres on which GICs can be implanted, to better study how they move and spread: pictured is a neurosphere, a cluster of neural stem cells, embedding into this artificial network. This system could help scientists learn more about how GICs migrate, and eventually provide a better system in which to screen potential drugs targeting this process in GBM.

Today marks the start of International Brain Tumour Awareness Week

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image from work by Ali Saleh and Emilie Marhuenda, and colleagues
• Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier, INM, U-1051, Univ. Montpellier, CHU de Montpellier, ENSCM, INSERM, Montpellier, France
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in Scientific Reports, October 2019