Varun Venkataramani

Many great speakers, amongst whom the amazing @ekinreyhan.bsky.social from the @venkataramanilab.bsky.social !

Thanks so much for your kind words, Wolfgang!

🎉Es ist ein Riesenprivileg, wenn man mit so leistungsstarken und kreativen Wissenschaftler:innen wie @svenjatetzlaff.bsky.social und @venkataramanilab.bsky.social zusammenarbeiten darf.
Der Schritt pathologische Netzwerke in Hirntumoren als Routen für Therapie zu explorieren,ist hochinnovativ.

🧪🧵🔬🔥Amazing microscopy here from the Venkataramani lab!

Great to see the study published! Congrats to all co-authors and thanks very much for having us @juliosaezrod.bsky.social @saezlab.bsky.social on the team. A nice example of how the @aihcluster.bsky.social makes new collaborations possible.

Thank you so much!

Outstanding and fascinating… congratulations 👏

Fantastic work by the amazing @svenjaktetzlaff.bsky.social , @ekinreyhan.bsky.social and the @venkataramanilab.bsky.social !!

Important and beautiful study 🤩 and I am happy and honored to have played a small part in it!

Important #cancerneuroscience work from the amazing @venkataramanilab.bsky.social and as shared first @svenjaktetzlaff.bsky.social and @ekinreyhan.bsky.social !

Check it out 👇

Beautiful work & insightful BlueSkytorial by @venkataramanilab.bsky.social.

Using modified rabies viruses, they show that glioblastoma tumor cells rapidly make connections with neurons & these interactions represent targetable vulnerabilities that could open therapeutic avenues for brain cancers.

Characterizing and targeting glioblastoma neuron-tumor networks with retrograde tracing Rapid integration of glioblastoma into neuronal circuits promotes glioblastoma invasion and growth, as shown by rabies-based retrograde tracing. Targeting of neuron-tumor networks with pharmacological or rabies-mediated disconnection offers therapeutic potential.

🔥 Characterizing and targeting glioblastoma neuron-tumor networks with retrograde tracing: Beautiful work by @venkataramanilab.bsky.social, congratulations !!

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

So happy this is finally out😊 thank you for the amazing supervision @venkataramanilab.bsky.social, to the best partner-in-crime @ekinreyhan.bsky.social and everyone who contributed, such a team effort!🧠🔬

Thrilled to share our latest work on how glioblastoma integrates into brain-wide networks using rabies-mediated retrograde tracing!🧠 So grateful to have been part of such a big team effort! @svenjaktetzlaff.bsky.social @venkataramanilab.bsky.social

🌟 Interested in joining our team? We're hiring at all levels - from research technicians, MD and PhD students to postdocs. Contact: varun.venkataramani@med.uni-heidelberg.de 15/15

We are incredibly grateful for the patients, their families and the funding agencies for enabling this research!

Sonja Hänzelmann,
@matthiakarreman.bsky.social, Felix Kurz, Manuel Schröter, Marc Thieeir, Abigail Suwala, Karin Forsberg-Nilsson, Claudio Acuna,
@saezlab.bsky.social , Amir Abdollahi, Felix Sahm, Michael Breckwoldt, Bogdana Suchorska, Franz Ricklefs, Dieter Henrik Heiland

@atefehpourkhalili.bsky.social
@ninadrewa.bsky.social
@afaymonville.bsky.social
ville.bsky.social
@ekeifert.bsky.social
eifert.bsky.social, Julia Wagner,
@stellasoyka.bsky.social @marccschubert.bsky.social
@nirosansivapalan.bsky.social

Bluesky Social media as it should be. Find your community among millions of users, unleash your creativity, and have some fun again.

So proud of the shared first authors
@ekinreyhan.bsky.social sky.social @svenjaktetzlaff.bsky.social etzlaff.bsky.social
and the entire team of amazing collaborators
@layern.bsky.social Peter Bengtson, Alina Heuer,
@julianschroers.bsky.social
@afaymonville.bsky.social

🔗 This research showcases the importance of bespoke methods development for Cancer Neuroscience, how it will advance our understanding of (brain) cancer circuits and the development of novel therapeutics for yet incurable tumors. 14/15

📊 Beyond just mapping, this work provides new therapeutic targets and a platform for testing treatments against these aggressive brain tumors. 13/15

🦠 Lastly, modified rabies viruses to disconnect tumor-connected neurons from brain tumor cells offer a potential novel therapeutic approach. 12/15

Tumor models of individual patients and distinct cell states showed heterogeneous patterns of neural connectivity. 11/15

💊 This led us to combine radiation with drugs that reduce neuronal activity. The combination proved more effective at treating tumors than either approach alone. 10/15

📡 Radiation therapy revealed something unexpected: It increased neuronal activity and subsequently connections between neurons and tumor cells. 9/15

🔍 A key discovery was the role of cholinergic neurons connected to glioblastoma cells: blocking their communication pathway slowed cortical tumor growth. 8/15

🧬 Using single-cell RNA sequencing and a functional neurotransmitter receptor screening, we found tumor cells express receptors for multiple neurotransmitters. This allows them to receive signals from many different types of neurons. 7/15

🔭 Using advanced microscopy, we could visualize individual connections between neurons and tumor cells - providing direct evidence of these interactions, in particular cholinergic synapses. 6/15

🌐 These weren't just local connections. The tumor cells established networks with neurons across different brain regions and even between hemispheres across large distances, showing remarkable integration. 5/15

⚡️ The timeline surprised us: Tumor cells formed functional connections with neurons very quickly with neurons within hours in culture and just days in the brain- much earlier than previously known and expected. 4/15

🔬 Our approach used the infection of tumor cells with a modified rabies virus that can only jump once to a directly connected neuron. When a neuron connects to a tumor cell, it lights up, creating a precise map of their connectome. 3/15