A gene that helps glioma resist chemo
Original title: IFIT3 silencing improves the sensitivity of gliomas to temozolomide by inactivating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only done in lab cells and in mice.
The short version
In lab tests, turning off one gene helped glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary cells respond to chemo again.
What was studied. Researchers looked at glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary cells that had stopped responding to temozolomide, a common chemo drug. They compared them with cells that still responded, and they also tested tumors in mice.
What they found. The team found 320 genes that differed between the two kinds of cells. One gene, called IFIT3, was higher in glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary cells and tissue that resisted the drug. Lowering IFIT3 slowed the cells and killed more of them. In mice, it also made tumors smaller during chemo.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This may point to one reason chemo stops working in glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary. Over time, that could give scientists a new target to aim at.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. The work was done in cells in a dish and in mice, not in people. Nothing here changes care today, and it is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, August 15, 2026 · Read the original
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