A lab study looks at why temozolomide stops working
Original title: N6-methyladenosine promotes temozolomide resistance through mRNA stabilization in glioblastoma cells.
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 with cells in a lab, not in people.
The short version
In lab cells, blocking one change to RNA made a common brain tumor chemo drug work again.
What was studied. Researchers grew glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in the lab and made them resist temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, a common chemo drug. They then studied a small chemical tag on RNA, called m6A, and what happened when they blocked a protein named METTL3.
What they found. The m6A tag made certain genes last longer inside the cells. Those genes helped the cells resist temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary. When the team blocked METTL3, the cells responded to the drug again. The resistance did not need tumor stem cells to happen.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to one possible reason chemo can stop working in glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. If the finding holds up, a drug that blocks METTL3 might one day be tested alongside temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary.
What it doesn't mean: This was only done with cells in a dish. No people were treated, and no one knows yet if it helps a person. It is not a treatment you can ask for today. It is not a cure. Many years of further testing would be needed first.
Source: PubMed, September 30, 2026 · Read the original
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