Premium accounts now available! Sign up and create a premium account. Read more Close

Advertisement

Image

Phenotypic screens identify biologic regulators of nanoparticle uptake in diffuse midline glioma

Preprint Created on 11 Sep 2026 bioRxiv

Nanoparticle drug delivery systems hold considerable promise for locoregional administration to central nervous system tumors, yet the biological determinants of nanoparticle-cancer cell interactions remain poorly understood. Using patient-derived histone-mutant diffuse midline glioma (DMG) models, we performed a pooled CRISPR-Cas9 perturbation screen to systematically identify regulators of liposomal nanoparticle delivery. The screen identified candidate genes spanning endocytosis, vesicle transport, and metabolic signaling, revealing that nanoparticle delivery is governed by a broader landscape than previously appreciated. Among these, CTNNB1, or {beta}-catenin, emerged as a common negative regulator across two independent DMG models and two distinct nanoparticle surface chemistries. Transcriptomic profiling of CTNNB1-depleted DMG cells revealed upregulation of membrane remodeling and extracellular matrix gene programs, accompanied by reduced cell stiffness measured by a microfluidic acoustic scattering assay. This resulted in a shift in endocytic activity characterized by decreased bulk-phase macropinocytosis and increased receptor-mediated endocytosis. We further identified MAPK and mTOR pathway members as nanoparticle trafficking modulators, and demonstrated concordance between genetic and pharmacologic perturbations in modulating the liposomal nanoparticle interactions in pediatric DMG cells. These findings establish a biology-first screening approach for identifying previously unappreciated regulators with potential relevance to nanoparticle-based therapeutic strategies in pediatric brain tumors.

Advertisement

Stats

  • Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
  • Views 10
  • Comments 0

Recommended by

  • No recommendations yet.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Advertisement