Study could lead to new strategies for slowing the growth of glioblastoma

EN CN
×

Subscribe Us

By subscription, you consent to allow Ubigene Biosciences to store and process the information provided above to deliver the latest news, research spotlight, and promotions. You can unsubscribe from these communications at anytime.

Location：Home > About Us > Blogs >

Contact us✖

* How would you like us to contact you?
Our Solution Specialists will contact you within 2 business days. Of course, you can also tell us when you would like to be contacted:
 Search
 Email
 Recommendations from others
 Social media
 Other

Study could lead to new strategies for slowing the growth of glioblastoma

Researchers are hopeful that new strategies could emerge for slowing the growth and recurrence of the most common primary brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma, based on the results of a study published today in Cancer Research.

Research led by Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) suggests the protein ID1 is critical to tumor initiation and growth and also impacts the disease's response to chemotherapy. ID1 is a protein that keeps other genes from being activated or repressed by binding to their activators or inhibitors. In this work, scientists found that ID1 helps maintain cancer stem cells in glioblastoma, making them less susceptible to treatment.

Researchers found that when they "turned off" the protein ID1 in lab models and human cells using CRISPR technology or a drug that is traditionally used to treat psychosis and Tourette's syndrome - pimozide - glioblastoma tumors slowed down. The team also found that turning off the protein altogether helped tumors become less resistant to chemotherapy.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of brain cancer, representing 15 per cent of all primary brain tumors, and is often difficult to treat. Therapy generally involves the combination of several approaches to control the disease, but there is currently no cure. The diagnoses of the late Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie and U.S. Sen. John McCain have raised the profile of glioblastoma in recent years.

"The average survival rate for glioblastoma is less than two years and we unfortunately don't have too many options to offer these patients," said Dr. Das, who is also a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's.

"Our findings suggest that we may be able to enhance the effectiveness of therapies we already have, such as chemotherapy, as opposed to taking many years to create entirely new therapies."

In lab models, researchers found that inhibiting ID1 slows the progression of tumors in glioblastoma, breast adenocarcinoma and melanoma. In human tissue, they found that the protein caused cells to be more resistant to chemotherapy treatment in glioblastoma. Turning off this protein using the medication pimozide increased overall survival and caused glioblastoma tumors to recur less frequently, progress less and grow more slowly.

"Targeting the protein with medication may present a novel and potentially promising strategy for patients with glioblastoma," Dr. Das said.

The next steps for this research, Dr. Das explained, are to look at the development of new inhibiting medications for ID1 and commence a trial to ensure that the targeting is effective.

WhatsApp: +86 153 6067 3248
TEL: +86 153 6067 3248 (Int'l)
US Toll free: 855 777 3210
EU Toll free: 800 3272 9252
Korea Toll free: 001 800 3272 9252

Gene Editing Services

EZ-editor™ Products

Copyright © 2019 Ubigene. All rights reserved.
Contact us