PUBLICATION
Single-cell profiling and zebrafish avatars reveal LGALS1 as immunomodulating target in glioblastoma
- Authors
- Finotto, L., Cole, B., Giese, W., Baumann, E., Claeys, A., Vanmechelen, M., Decraene, B., Derweduwe, M., Dubroja Lakic, N., Shankar, G., Nagathihalli Kantharaju, M., Albrecht, J.P., Geudens, I., Stanchi, F., Ligon, K.L., Boeckx, B., Lambrechts, D., Harrington, K., Van Den Bosch, L., De Vleeschouwer, S., De Smet, F., Gerhardt, H.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-231005-58
- Date
- 2023
- Source
- EMBO Molecular Medicine 15(11): e18144 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Gerhardt, Holger
- Keywords
- LGALS1, glioblastoma, macrophages, scRNA-seq, zebrafish avatars
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Brain Neoplasms*/pathology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Galectin 1/genetics
- Galectin 1/metabolism
- Galectin 1/therapeutic use
- Glioblastoma*/pathology
- Humans
- Macrophages/metabolism
- Tumor Microenvironment/genetics
- Zebrafish
- PubMed
- 37791581 Full text @ EMBO Mol. Med.
Citation
Finotto, L., Cole, B., Giese, W., Baumann, E., Claeys, A., Vanmechelen, M., Decraene, B., Derweduwe, M., Dubroja Lakic, N., Shankar, G., Nagathihalli Kantharaju, M., Albrecht, J.P., Geudens, I., Stanchi, F., Ligon, K.L., Boeckx, B., Lambrechts, D., Harrington, K., Van Den Bosch, L., De Vleeschouwer, S., De Smet, F., Gerhardt, H. (2023) Single-cell profiling and zebrafish avatars reveal LGALS1 as immunomodulating target in glioblastoma. EMBO Molecular Medicine. 15(11):e18144.
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) remains the most malignant primary brain tumor, with a median survival rarely exceeding 2 years. Tumor heterogeneity and an immunosuppressive microenvironment are key factors contributing to the poor response rates of current therapeutic approaches. GBM-associated macrophages (GAMs) often exhibit immunosuppressive features that promote tumor progression. However, their dynamic interactions with GBM tumor cells remain poorly understood. Here, we used patient-derived GBM stem cell cultures and combined single-cell RNA sequencing of GAM-GBM co-cultures and real-time in vivo monitoring of GAM-GBM interactions in orthotopic zebrafish xenograft models to provide insight into the cellular, molecular, and spatial heterogeneity. Our analyses revealed substantial heterogeneity across GBM patients in GBM-induced GAM polarization and the ability to attract and activate GAMs-features that correlated with patient survival. Differential gene expression analysis, immunohistochemistry on original tumor samples, and knock-out experiments in zebrafish subsequently identified LGALS1 as a primary regulator of immunosuppression. Overall, our work highlights that GAM-GBM interactions can be studied in a clinically relevant way using co-cultures and avatar models, while offering new opportunities to identify promising immune-modulating targets.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping