Hypothalamus-to-pelvic-ganglion neural circuit drives prostate tumor growth in mice
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A preprint posted on bioRxiv on 24 October 2026 describes a polysynaptic neural circuit linking the hypothalamus to the major pelvic ganglion (MPG) that regulates prostate tumor growth in mice. Within the PVN-DMV-MPG pathway, activity in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) restrained tumors, while activity in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) promoted them; ablating the MPG abolished the DMV-mediated pro-tumor effect. Using laser microdissection combined with Smart-seq2, the researchers found that tumor-innervating, activated MPG neurons showed increased Wnt3a expression under upstream neural control, and that neutralizing WNT3A released by MPG explants suppressed explant-induced cancer cell proliferation. The findings are from a single mouse study and remain to be independently validated.
Written by a model from the reports · updated 4 hours ago
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- biorxiv.orgPickA polysynaptic hypothalamuspelvic-ganglion circuit regulates prostate tumor growth via WNT3A
A mouse study finds that a polysynaptic PVN-DMV-MPG circuit regulates prostate tumor growth: PVN activity suppresses tumors, while DMV activity promotes them. MPG ablation abolished the DMV-mediated pro-tumor effect. LMD combined with Smart-seq2 showed increased Wnt3a expression in tumor-innervating, activated MPG neurons under upstream neural control; neutralizing WNT3A released by MPG explants suppressed explant-induced cancer cell proliferation.
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