A common water pill blocked a glioblastoma target in lab tests
Original title: Repurposing Triamterene as Chloride Intracellular Channel 1 Inhibitor via Ligand-Based Approach: A Novel Adjuvant Treatment for Glioblastoma.
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 lab dishes and in fish embryos, not in people.
The short version
A cheap, already approved water pill slowed glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in the lab and in fish embryos, but it has not been tested in people for this.
What was studied. Researchers looked for drugs that block CLIC1, a channel that helps glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary stem cells grow. Using computer studies, they picked the water pill triamterene and tested it on glioblastoma stem cells, on healthy human brain cells, and in zebrafish embryos given human tumor cells.
What they found. Triamterene blocked the CLIC1 channel in glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary stem cells. It took about 200-fold less triamterene than metformin to do this. The tumor cells grew less in flat and 3D lab cultures, spread less in 3D models, and grew less in the zebrafish embryos. Healthy human brain cells were only modestly affected. Triamterene also made temozolomide work harder, and made radiation plus temozolomide more damaging to the tumor cells.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a drug that doctors already use for other reasons and know well. If it works the same way in people, it might one day be added on top of standard glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary treatment. Right now it is a lead worth testing, nothing more.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean triamterene treats glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary in people. The work was done in lab dishes and in zebrafish embryos. No person with a brain tumor was given it in this study. It is not a cure, and it is not something to ask for or take on your own. Many drugs that look good at this stage do not work out in people. It would take years of human trials to know.
Source: PubMed, July 18, 2026 · Read the original
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