Introduction: Gliomas are tumors that arise from glial cells in the brain and spinal cord and are the most common brain tumors, accounting for 50% of primary intracranial tumors. Despite significant advances in glioma research, treatment options remain limited, and survival rates have yet to improve significantly. This is due to the lack of appropriate preclinical models that accurately reflect the structure and microenvironment of brain tumors. In this study, we established a three-dimensional assembloid model that mimics the microenvironment of actual brain tumor patients, which has yet to be developed worldwide, based on our experience in culturing brain organoids and brain tumor spheroids in three dimensions. Based on this, we aimed to identify the state of glioma-induced astrocyte activation and control the microenvironment by analyzing specific neuroimmune factors. METHODS &
Results: In our previous study, we found that adding astrocytic growth factor (AGF) to the medium promoted the development of astrocytes and neurons, confirming that neurons and astrocytes are closely related. Based on this, we analyzed the activation of astrocytes by direct or indirect contact with glioma cells using a co-culture method of glioma cells and neurons to determine the structure and function of tumor-affected neurons. We found that glioma cells inhibited the structure and activity of neurons and astrocytes and increased the secretion of neuroimmune factors.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that neuroimmune factors secreted by glioma cells significantly impact the structure and function of neurons and astrocytes. Neuroinflammatory factors play an important role in the survival of neurons and astrocytes. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of the neuroimmune factors and astrocyte changes activated by glioma cells.
Funding Source: ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This work was supported by the Korea Foundation for Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology(WISET; 2024-625) Grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT) under the Program for Returners into R&D.
