A novel non-animal research method for glioblastoma research

The Problem

Glioblastoma is the most common type of high-grade primary brain tumour in adults. Despite using chemotherapy and radiation to slow tumour growth and reduce symptoms, fewer than 1% of patients live for more than ten years. Research into glioblastomas primarily involves animals and animal-derived products. Despite decades of research into finding improved approaches to treat glioblastoma, most clinical trials have failed to improve patient outcomes.

Grace was one of two of our Summer students working on brain tumours over Summer 2024. Her project aimed to help improve the clinical translation of glioblastoma models.

The Project

Growing cancer cells from patients in the lab takes a lot of work to keep them alive. To study glioblastomas, scientists need special substances the cells release, specific nutrients, and a gel-like material called MatrigelTM, which is made using mice.

It’s estimated that 3 young mice are needed for every 10ml of Matrigel used in the lab.

In collaboration with a company that designs and produces synthetic proteins, Grace tested an alternative form of extracellular matrix called GrowDex® to see if it has the potential to replace the use of MatrigelTM in 3D models of glioblastoma.

Grace used two types of cells grown from patients’ tumour tissue and compared how they grew in different concentrations of Growdex® and MatrigelTM and using a combination of the two. By using light microscopy she compared how the cells grew and behaved under the different experimental conditions.

The Potential

Grace found no compelling evidence that GrowDex® could be used on its own to grow these types of cells. However, she has found positive signs when GrowDex® and MatrigelTM are combined. Unfortunately, this part of her research does not show the potential for decreasing the volume of animal products used in research that she had hoped to see.

In more positive news, Grace has shown that some primary glioblastoma cell lines can be cultured in 3D when embedded in low concentrations of GrowDex®. She recommends that future research should explore whether the model is likely to be physiologically similar to tumours in real life by looking at cell differentiation and stem cell markers.

Grace’s project neatly shows the complexity of replacing animal-derived products i n human-relevant research. Although Growdex® did not show the effect on its own that she had hoped for with these types of cells, it could still provide a non-animal alternative approach for other patient-derived cellular models.