Evidence mapPaperPMID 42218137Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2026

Microglia in diffuse midline glioma contribute to extracellular matrix remodelling and cancer cell invasion.

Lily Keane, Martin Škandík, Mercedes Posada-Pérez, Raj Bose, John Desito, Esmee van der Linde, Pinelopi Engskog-Vlachos, Sandra Ceccatelli, Adam L Green, Bertrand Joseph

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Lily Keane *Institute of Environmental Medicine, Toxicology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7418-3434
Martin Škandík *Institute of Environmental Medicine, Toxicology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2060-9553
Mercedes Posada-Pérez *Institute of Environmental Medicine, Toxicology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Raj BoseCenter for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4039-862X
John DesitoMorgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Foundation, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Aurora, Aurora, CO, USA.
Esmee van der LindeCenter for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
Pinelopi Engskog-VlachosInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Toxicology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sandra CeccatelliCenter for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9367-8480
Adam L GreenMorgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Foundation, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Aurora, Aurora, CO, USA.
Bertrand JosephInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Toxicology unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. bertrand.joseph@ki.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5655-9979

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diffuse midline glioma, H3K27-altered (DMG), is an aggressive and uniformly fatal paediatric brain tumour arising in midline structures and characterised by substantial microglial infiltration. We investigated whether microglia adopt a reactive state in response to DMG cells that functionally contributes to tumour progression. Transcriptomic profiling of microglia exposed to DMG, H3K27M cells, together with analysis of tumour associated myeloid cells isolated from DMG patient biopsies, revealed a pronounced upregulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including fibronectin. Single cell transcriptomic analysis further identified microglia as the primary fibronectin expressing cell population within human DMG, H3K27M tumours. Functional invasion assays using a panel of patient-derived DMG, H3K27M cells, revealed that microglia-derived fibronectin significantly enhances tumour cell invasiveness, while its chemical inhibition with RGDS peptide or Avapritinib or its genetic silencing using small-interfering RNAs effectively suppresses invasion. Across independent patient cohorts (Kids First, PNOC, and CBTTC), and in archival tissues, DMG tumours were found to exhibit elevated expression of ECM components, and high fibronectin expression that correlated with poor prognosis. These findings suggest that microglia actively contribute to DMG invasiveness through ECM component production, identifying fibronectin as a potential therapeutic target in this lethal paediatric cancer.

Indexed as

Brain NeoplasmsExtracellular MatrixGliomaMicrogliaAnimalsCell Line, TumorFibronectinsGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansNeoplasm InvasivenessFibronectins

Identifiers

PMID42218137
PMCPMC13222350

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.