Understanding the origin of meningiomas to develop targeted treatments
Fast facts
- Title: Defining and targeting the cellular origin of meningioma
- Lead Researcher: Dr Charlotte Eaton
- Where: University of California, San Francisco
- When: August 2024 – July 2027
- Cost: £225,000 over 3 years
- Research type: Meningioma
- Grant round: Future Leaders
Meningiomas are one of the most common forms of primary brain tumour. The only currently approved methods of treatment are surgery or radiation – both of which are non-specific cancer therapies, with a range of unwanted side effects. Meningiomas come from a thin membrane which protects the brain, called the meninges. There are three layers of the meninges, like 3-ply toilet roll, with each layer containing different cell types, many of which remain unknown. There is also limited understanding of which cell types, or layer/s, the meningiomas come from. Greater understanding of the origin of meningiomas, and how they grow, would allow the development of more tailored and effective treatments.
What is it?
Within cells, there is a particular structure called the mitochondria, which is essential for producing the energy required to carry out the essential activities that keep humans healthy and alive. By comparing the mitochondrial DNA between the cells of the meninges and the tumour cells, researchers can trace the origin of cells that bridge this transition from normal cell to meningioma.
Dr Charlotte Eaton of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is aiming to improve knowledge of the origin of meningiomas by using several key laboratory techniques. She will use a combination of DNA sequencing, which will provide information about which cells the tumour cells originated from, and RNA sequencing, which will help the researcher to pinpoint potential drivers of disease. This information will identify the genes that are similar or different between meningeal layers and meningiomas. Using these two types of information, the researchers can identify the first cells driving meningioma formation and the gene(s) responsible for meninges-meningioma transition.
Why is it important?
By understanding how cells develop from a normal, healthy cell to a tumour cell, will give the researchers a blueprint on how these tumours grow, and therefore shed light on how they can be treated. This could lead to new, targeted treatments for meningiomas.
As we do not understand how, or where, meningiomas form, treatments for patients with meningiomas are limited to surgery and radiation. But, if we identify which cells start meningioma formation, we will shed light on how meningiomas grow and will help us design specific treatments for patients with meningiomas.
Dr Charlotte Eaton
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In this section
Dr Charlotte Eaton
Charlotte is a postdoctoral researcher at The University of California, San Francisco. Her research aims to define the cells that meningiomas originate from and shed light on how they grow and develop. She will be using single-cell sequencing methods to identify the meninges to meningioma transition for meningiomas and identify changes in the DNA sequence that contribute to this transition, with the ultimate goal of designing and developing specific treatments for patients with meningiomas.