# Stanford: glioblastoma cells use the NLGN3 signal from active neurons to grow, shown in mice

- Published: 2026-11-10 21:16 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: glioblastoma, neuroligin-3, NLGN3, CSPG4, glioma, cancer neuroscience, tumor microenvironment, myelin, Stanford study, experiments in mice
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-65ab713a56b08708795b7a5e_stanford_glioblastoma_cells/

**In mice, glioma cells capture the NLGN3 protein released by active neurons via CSPG4 and divide faster; disrupting this link slowed tumor growth.**

![Stanford: glioblastoma cells use the NLGN3 signal from active neurons to grow, shown in mice](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/dd60c1ec34c82c31.jpg)
*Sciences et Avenir*

Researchers at Stanford University (USA) have shown how glioma cells intercept signals from neurons to stimulate their own growth. The study was published in Nature Neuroscience in August and described by Sciences et Avenir. The experiments were carried out in mice. [1]

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of glioma, a tumor that develops from glial cells, which feed and protect neurons. It accounts for about 70% of gliomas, and nearly 3,500 new cases are diagnosed each year in France. Only 7% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis; for pancreatic cancer the estimate is 11%. [1]

## How the tumor listens to neurons

When a neuron is activated, it releases a soluble form of the protein neuroligin-3 (NLGN3) into brain tissue. Cancer cells carry another protein on their surface, CSPG4, which works as an antenna and picks up this signal. The tumor thus turns NLGN3 into a growth factor. In mice, the more active the neurons were, the more NLGN3 they released and the more the tumor cells were driven to multiply. [1]

By disrupting this binding, the researchers markedly slowed glioma cell division and, as a result, tumor growth. [1]

The obstacle is that the same cellular communication plays an essential role in producing myelin, the protective membrane around nerve fibers that ensures fast conduction of impulses. For now, abruptly blocking this pathway would risk damaging healthy brain cells. A way to distinguish the hijacked signal from the one needed for normal brain function has yet to be found. [1]

## Other tumors and the nervous system

Glioblastoma is not the only cancer that exploits neuronal communication. In 2025, two studies in Nature showed that cells of some lung cancers, after metastasizing to the brain, form synapses with neurons. Electrical activity passing through these connections stimulates the proliferation of cancer cells. [1]

In 2019, a paper in Nature showed that prostate tumors send signals to the nervous system to recruit neuronal precursor cells. The French Inserm/CEA team found that diseased mice had fewer neuronal progenitors in the brain. The missing cells had left the central nervous system through the bloodstream and reached the tumor, where they gave rise to new neurons that contribute to its innervation. [1]

To grow, a tumor also stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, diverts immune cells and remodels the surrounding connective tissue. The nervous system is now added to this list as another element of the tumor microenvironment. The challenge, according to the article, is to preserve healthy nervous tissue. [1]

## Sources

1. [Sciences et Avenir](https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/quand-les-tumeurs-piratent-le-systeme-nerveux_195872)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-65ab713a56b08708795b7a5e_stanford_glioblastoma_cells/