Spatially restricted iron-metabolism-associated stress programs prime invasive mesenchymal glioblastoma states in human tissue-context models

Petry et al. (University of Freiburg; Neuro-Oncology 2026): multiregional single-nucleus RNA-seq of human GBM tumor core, periphery and infiltrated cortex, validated by spatial transcriptomics, links iron uptake/storage programs to invasion signatures and defines a core-enriched mesenchymal-like, stress-adaptive malignant subpopulation in specific spatial niches. In patient-derived GBM cell lines and human organotypic cortical slice cultures, noncytotoxic iron altered migration in a cell-state-dependent manner and increased growth and invasion (higher VIM, MMP9, HIF1A). The authors note that dependence on these programs was not tested and that the necessity and mechanism of the iron effect remain to be established.

Authors / organisation

Petry C, Boecke AS, Mohammed AO, Ghariwala NS, Jariwala VD, Shhab MA, Buchholz O, Vasilikos I, Nakagawa JM, Vlachos A, Grauvogel J, Shah MJ, Rölz R, Prinz M, Hofmann UG, Beck J, Joseph K, Ravi VM.

Venue

Neuro-Oncology

Date

2026-10-08

Type

paper

Year

2026

DOI

10.1093/neuonc/noag220

PMID

42844997

Verification

PubMed E-utilities PMID 42844997 (title, 18 authors, Freiburg affiliations, Neuro Oncol, epub 2026-10-08, accepted 2026-09-03, abstract) + Crossref (journal-article, published online 2026-10-08, article noag220) fetched 2026-10-20; full text not read

GBMscRNA-seqSpatial omicsPlasticityOrganoid

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