Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41492091›Full record

ArticleNature cancer2026

De novo H3.3K27M-altered diffuse midline glioma in human brainstem organoids to dissect GD2 CAR T cell function.

Nils Bessler, Amber K L Wezenaar, Hendrikus C R Ariese, Celina Honhoff, Noëlle Dommann, Ellen J Wehrens, Cristian Ruiz Moreno, Thijs J M van den Broek, Raphaël V U Collot, Daan J Kloosterman and 21 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Leveraging Microphysiological Systems to Facilitate Neutrophil-Based Cancer Immunotherapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Nils Bessler *Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Amber K L Wezenaar *Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1638-1851
Hendrikus C R Ariese *Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1796-1292
Celina Honhoff *Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0167-3541
Noëlle DommannDepartment of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Ellen J WehrensPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Cristian Ruiz MorenoPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9689-7964
Thijs J M van den BroekPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3034-6160
Raphaël V U CollotPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Daan J KloostermanPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Farid KeramatiPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Mieke RoosenPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sam de BlankPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2191-5675
Esmée van VlietPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9301-1598
Mario Barrera RománPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5919-2962
Lucrezia C D E GattiCenter for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Ali ErtürkInstitute for Intelligent Biotechnologies (iBIO), Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Munich, Germany.
Jürgen KuballCenter for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Zsolt SebestyénCenter for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Marcel KoolPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sara PatriziOnco-Hematology, Cell Therapy, Gene Therapies and Hemopoietic Transplant, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1898-1516
Evelina MieleOnco-Hematology, Cell Therapy, Gene Therapies and Hemopoietic Transplant, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Rome, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4747-1032
Annette KünkeleDepartment of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8406-5412
Mariëtte E G KranendonkPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-7494
Annelisa M CornelPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8349-121X
Stefan NierkensPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Christian MayerMax Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3152-5574
Hendrik G StunnenbergPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0066-1576
Anna AlemanyDepartment of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0795-0290
Maria AlievaInstituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale (IIBM), CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1425-9908
Anne C RiosPrincess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands. A.C.Rios@prinsesmaximacentrum.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9082-8068

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) is a highly aggressive and untreatable pediatric cancer primarily arising in the pontine brainstem region, necessitating the development of representative models for treatment advance. Here we developed an FGF4-driven human brainstem organoid model, which we used to genetically engineer H3.3K27M-altered DMG. We demonstrated that brainstem pontine glial specification is critical for DMG tumorigenesis, yielding infiltrative tumors that recapitulate patient-representative intratumoral heterogeneity. Prolonged GD2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell treatment mirrored clinical outcomes and revealed extensive transcriptional heterogeneity, from which both potent effector and dysfunctional CAR T cell populations could be identified. Furthermore, incorporation of myeloid cells generated DMG-specific microglia that reduced treatment efficacy and revealed CAR T cell functional states most vulnerable to microglia-mediated immunosuppression. Thus, we present a representative DMG model offering a months-long experimental window in vitro, which we leveraged to delineate CAR T cell functionality and microglial impact, aiding therapy development for this devastating disease.

Indexed as

Brain StemBrain Stem NeoplasmsGliomaImmunotherapy, AdoptiveOrganoidsReceptors, Chimeric AntigenT-LymphocytesAnimalsGangliosidesHumansMiceMicrogliaganglioside, GD2GangliosidesReceptors, Chimeric Antigen

Identifiers

PMID41492091
PMCPMC12948678

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.