A cell protein may change how brain tumors react to radiation
Original title: The role of the mitochondrial phosphate carrier in modulating mitochondrial homeostasis and enhancing radiosensitivity in tumor cells.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in cells and in mice.
The short version
Scientists found a protein inside cells that may help radiation kill glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary cells.
What was studied. Researchers looked at glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary, a kind of brain tumor. They studied a protein called the mitochondrial phosphate carrier, or PiC, in glioma cells and in tumors in mice.
What they found. Radiation lowered the amount of PiC in the cells. The tiny power centers inside the cells then stopped working right. That damage set off the steps that make a cell die. Tumors in mice showed the same changes.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Radiation does not always work well against glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary. This study points to one possible reason why. If this protein could be targeted, radiation might work better. That idea still has to be tested.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment, and nobody can ask for it. The work was done in cells and in mice, not in people. We do not know yet if it helps patients at all. It is early lab science, far from daily care, and it is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, October 20, 2026 · Read the original
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