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@ARTICLE{Horschitz:300285,
author = {S. Horschitz$^*$ and A. Jabali and S. Heuer$^*$ and E.
Zillich and L. Zillich and D. C. Hoffmann$^*$ and A. S.
Kumar and D. Hausmann$^*$ and D. D. Azorin$^*$ and L.
Hai$^*$ and W. Wick$^*$ and F. Winkler$^*$ and P. Koch},
title = {{D}evelopment of a fully human
glioblastoma-in-brain-spheroid model for accelerated
translational research.},
journal = {Journal of advanced research},
volume = {nn},
issn = {2090-1232},
address = {Amsterdam [u.a.]},
publisher = {Elsevier},
reportid = {DKFZ-2025-00738},
pages = {nn},
year = {2025},
note = {#EA:A340# / epub},
abstract = {Glioblastoma (GBM) progression and therapeutic resistance
are significantly influenced by complex interactions between
tumor cells and the brain microenvironment, particularly
neurons. However, studying these interactions in
physiologically relevant conditions has remained challenging
due to limitations in existing model systems.Here, we
present hGliCS (human glioma-cortical spheroid), a novel
fully human brain tumor model that overcomes key limitations
of current approaches by combining patient-derived GBM cells
with mature human cortical neurons derived from induced
pluripotent stem cells.We demonstrate that GBM cells in
hGliCS develop three critical hallmark features observed in
patients: (i) formation of tumor microtubes enabling
intercellular communication, (ii) establishment of
neuron-glioma synapses, and (iii) development of an
interconnected network with coordinated calcium signaling.
Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that tumor cells in
hGliCS exhibit cellular heterogeneity and transcriptional
profiles remarkably similar to those observed in mouse
xenografts, including activation of key oncogenic pathways
and neuronal-like features. Notably, while GBM cells showed
substantial transcriptional adaptation to the neural
environment, neurons maintained their core identity with
only subtle alterations in glutamate signaling and
structural gene expression. We validate hGliCS as a drug
screening platform by demonstrating resistance patterns to
standard chemotherapy and radiation similar to clinical
observations. Furthermore, we show the model's utility in
testing standard and novel therapeutic compounds targeting
cell proliferation and tumor-specific neurobiological
features, respectively.This physiologically relevant human
model system provides new opportunities for studying GBM
biology and tumor-neuron interactions in a controlled
environment. By bridging the gap between simplified in vitro
systems and complex in vivo models, hGliCS represents a
promising platform for therapeutic development and
personalized medicine approaches in GBM treatment.},
keywords = {Cancer treatment (Other) / Cortical spheroids (Other) /
Glioblastoma (Other) / Glioma heterogeneity (Other) /
Neuro-oncology (Other)},
cin = {A340 / B320 / HD01},
ddc = {500},
cid = {I:(DE-He78)A340-20160331 / I:(DE-He78)B320-20160331 /
I:(DE-He78)HD01-20160331},
pnm = {311 - Zellbiologie und Tumorbiologie (POF4-311)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-311},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:40188875},
doi = {10.1016/j.jare.2025.03.055},
url = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/300285},
}