Spatial miRNomics in Glioblastoma: Mapping the Unseen and its Clinical Significance

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumour, with an 85% mortality rate within two years of diagnosis. In Europe, tens of thousands of people die from glioblastoma every year, and currently there are no effective treatments. Glioblastoma tumours exhibit high genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity with numerous cancer subclones. This complexity complicates the identification of useful clinical features across patients, highlighting the importance of studying glioblastoma from the perspective of its heterogeneity. MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. They play an important role in glioblastoma, where their dysregulation can drive tumour development. In addition, microRNAs hold potential as biomarkers, with the unique duality of acting both as targetable molecules and deliverable drugs, offering new opportunities for diagnosis and treatment. However, to date, no imaging method has achieved multiplexed mapping of microRNAs in tissues, resulting in a gap in understanding their spatial distribution within key tumour regions and how they contribute to glioblastoma heterogeneity.Spatial miRNomics is a pioneering concept that will, for the first time, map the spatial distribution of microRNAs in single cells and across glioblastoma tissues. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Spatial miRNomics will extend spatial biology to microRNAs to close that gap, revealing their landscape in brain tissues, and their clinical significance in glioblastoma. This multidisciplinary effort will be performed at Mats Nilsson's Group (Stockholms Universitet), pioneers in spatial biology, and conducted at SciLifeLab, in the Karolinska Science Park. SciLifeLab excels in spatial omics with strong research, clinical and industrial collaborations and exceptional infrastructures. Aligned with the European Cancer Mission, Spatial miRNomics aims to strengthen European leadership in health innovation.