Fig. 1

Laminin and, to some extent, fibronectin impact DIPG adhesion, migration, and response to radiation and panobinostat treatment in 2D culture. a KEGG enrichment analysis of biological processes highlights ECM-receptor interaction as significantly upregulated in metastatic DIPG in frontal lobe (SU-DIPG-XIII-FL) vs. primary DIPG tumor in the pons (SU-DIPG-XIII-P). b Z-score heatmap of average vst-normalized gene expression counts of genes belonging to the ECM family (n = 2/group). c Effect of varying ECM coating (laminin, fibronectin, collagen-IV, or collagen-I) on DIPG adhesion and spreading over time. SU-DIPG-XIII-FL spheroids were cultured on 2D tissue culture plastic (TCP) coated with ECM (each at 50 µg/mL), and brightfield time-lapse imaging was performed over 24 h. Scale bar, 200 µm. d Quantification of DIPG migration at 24 h. Data is normalized to the spheroid area at 0 h (n ≥ 10 DIPG spheroids per group). ****p < 0.0001 by one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test vs. Laminin. e, f Effect of ECM coating on DIPG response to radiation therapy (e) or panobinostat (f). Data is reported as relative cell viability (n = 4/group for radiation and n = 3/group for panobinostat treatment). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 by two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Data reported in d–f represent mean value ± SD