Cells near blood vessels may help glioblastoma calm the immune system
Original title: FAP+ pericyte-like cells promote monocyte differentiation into tumor-associated macrophages in glioblastoma.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only studied in lab cells, tumor samples, and mice, not as a treatment in people.
The short version
Scientists found a type of cell in glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary that may turn the body's immune cells into helpers for the tumor.
What was studied. Scientists looked at a type of support cell found near blood vessels in glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, a fast-growing brain tumor. They studied tumor samples, patient records, cells in the lab, and mice.
What they found. These support cells seem to pull in a type of white blood cell. They then help turn those cells into immune cells that shield the tumor instead of fighting it. Patients whose tumors showed signs of these support cells tended to not live as long.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Someday, drugs that target these support cells might help the immune system fight glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary better. For now, this gives scientists a new target to study.
What it doesn't mean: This is early research done in the lab and in mice. No treatment was tested in people. Anything based on this is still a long way from everyday care. It is not a cure, and it does not change how glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary is treated today.
Source: PubMed, September 11, 2026 · Read the original
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