How brain tumor cells share energy parts with nearby healthy cells
Original title: Tunneling nanotubes regulate mitochondrial homeostasis between glioblastoma and astrocytes, and between tumor cells in vivo.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in lab cells and animals, not in people.
The short version
Scientists saw tiny tubes that let brain tumor cells trade energy parts with healthy brain cells.
What was studied. Researchers looked at 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 tumor cells and healthy brain support cells called astrocyte: A star-shaped helper cell in the brain and spinal cord. It is one of the glial cells that sit around nerve cells. An astrocytoma starts in these. See the glossary. They studied cells in the lab and also watched live animals under a special microscope.
What they found. Tumor cells and healthy cells were linked by very thin tubes. Through these tubes, the cells passed their tiny energy parts back and forth. Healthy cells that got damaged parts from the tumor started cleaning them up, and tumor cells that got parts from healthy cells changed how they used energy.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This may help explain how brain tumors adapt and keep growing. In the future, these tiny tubes might be something doctors try to block with treatment.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. The work was done in lab cells and in animals, not in people. No drug was tested, and it is not a cure. It will likely take many years of more research before this could help patients.
Source: PubMed, September 15, 2026 · Read the original
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