Dissecting Cellular Interactions in Pediatric Low-grade Gliomas

Award: $204,686 over 1 year (2022-2023)
Principal Investigators: Dr. Mimi Bandopadhayay, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Funding Partners: Jack’s Drive55

The growth of pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGGs), which occur in the context of a developing brain but then stall during adulthood, is likely to depend upon interactions between cancer cells and cells within their micro-environment. Researchers’ initial efforts to identify and characterize the cells that comprise pLGGs have indicated substantial cellular heterogeneity, both among tumor cells and co-existing normal cells, with enrichment of immune cells including macrophages, T-cells and microglia. However, the cellular interactions between pLGG cells and surrounding cells and their role in regulating tumor growth have not been defined. Current single-cell RNA-sequencing efforts are performed in single-cell dissociations that do not maintain the three-dimensional architecture of gliomas. This project will help researchers apply multiplexed spatial transcriptomic and proteomic profiling to evaluate cell-cell interactions within pLGGs to better understand how interactions at the cellular level between a child’s developing brain and their brain tumor affect the tumor’s growth.