How mutation disrupts cell development, driving region-specific brain tumors

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown that specific brain cells respond differently to H3.3 K27M, a mutation in the histone H3.3 protein that drives many cases of diffuse midline glioma (DMG), depending on the cells' location in the developing brain. These findings help explain why DMG, a pediatric brain cancer commonly associated with this mutation, typically arises in the brainstem and other midline regions. The study was published today in Nature Communications.