This is a Discovery Research Grant awarded to Paramita Baruah at the University of Birmingham. It started in June 2025.
Background
Vestibular schwannomas are brain tumours that grow on the hearing and balance nerve. Because of where they are found in the skull, they can cause significant symptoms including hearing loss (usually on one side of the head), tinnitus, balance problems and dizziness, facial numbness and, very rarely, weakness or loss of muscle movement in the face. In rare cases, a vestibular schwannoma can grow large enough to press on the brainstem and become life-threatening.
Vestibular schwannomas can arise at random along the hearing and balance nerve. They can also occur as part of a condition called Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). NF2 is caused by changes to a gene called NF2 which produces a protein called Merlin. Merlin protein plays a role in controlling cell growth and replication; when it does not work correctly, it can lead to the formation of tumours.
Current treatments for vestibular schwannomas are surgery to remove them and radiotherapy to shrink them. While these treatments are usually effective in removing the tumour and alleviating symptoms, they can also sometimes worsen the underlying symptoms (by causing permanent damage to the hearing and balance nerve or surrounding cells). This means that people undergoing these treatments can develop permanent hearing loss, problems with facial movement and balance, and other problems. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new, safer treatments for vestibular schwannomas that, among other things, preserve people’s hearing.
Aim
In this project, the researchers will investigate the presence and activity of immune cells (which cause inflammation) as well as the oxygen and glucose requirements in tissue taken from vestibular schwannomas. They will explore the cells and factors that are needed to support the growth of a vestibular schwannoma, with the aim of discovering new molecules that can be targeted by new treatments.
The researchers will chart the individual cells found in diseased (tumour) tissue and healthy inner ear tissue. This will help them to identify the cell groups which are driving tumour development. They will focus on support and immune cells, such as fibroblasts which are important cells in the structure of the tissue, and macrophages, a type of white blood cell that kills bugs, removes dead cells and stimulates the activity of other immune cells. These cells are already known to play an important role in the growth of other cancers, but their role in vestibular schwannoma is not yet well understood. The researchers will use state-of-the-art genetic techniques called single cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to do this work.
Additionally, the researchers will examine how these cells use glucose and oxygen to help ‘feed’ the tumour. Finally, they will test for proteins/factors in blood samples from people with vestibular schwannomas that are linked to tumour growth and hearing loss and tinnitus (these factors are called biomarkers).
Benefit
This work could ultimately lead to new treatments for vestibular schwannomas that target the inflammation and glucose/oxygen use of support cells and immune cells within the tumour. These treatments would prevent or reverse tumour growth and protect against hearing loss and tinnitus. The work could also identify biomarkers for vestibular schwannoma to improve diagnosis of the condition.