Gliomas are malignant brain tumors that originate from glial cells, which do not produce electrical impulses like neurons but instead support neurons by maintaining their structure and function. They are the most common form of brain cancer in adults and hijack normal neuronal signaling, especially the protein neuroligin-3 (NLGN3), released by active nerve cells, to fuel their own growth and spread into healthy brain tissue. Researchers wanted to uncover how NLGN3 interacts with glioma cells and healthy OPCs, and the role it normally plays in healthy brain cells.

The researchers isolated the outer membranes of brain cancer cells from pediatric and adult patients, extracted their proteins and passed them through a laboratory column containing purified NLGN3 to see which proteins stuck to it.

They discovered that NLGN3 binds directly to a cell-surface receptor protein called CSPG4 (also known as NG2) on both brain cancer cells and healthy oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which eventually develop into oligodendrocytes that produce the fatty myelin sheath insulating nerve fibers.