A plant compound slowed meningioma growth in lab cells and in mice
Original title: Brusatol suppresses meningioma progression via targeting HMGCR to restrict the cholesterol biosynthesis and inhibit PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
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 cells and in mice, not in people.
The short version
A compound called brusatol slowed meningioma tumor growth in lab tests and in mice.
What was studied. Researchers tested a plant compound called brusatol on meningioma cells grown in the lab. They also gave it to mice with meningioma tumors.
What they found. Brusatol slowed the growth of meningioma cells. It also caused more of those cells to die and made them less able to move and spread. It lowered the cholesterol that built up inside the cells. The team found that brusatol blocked an enzyme called HMGCR, which cells use to make cholesterol, and it turned down a growth signal called PI3K/AKT. In mice, brusatol slowed tumor growth, and the researchers did not see major harm in these tests.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This gives scientists a possible new target in meningioma. It suggests that how tumor cells make cholesterol may matter. For now it is a lead to study further, not something a doctor can offer.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean brusatol works in people. The work was done in cells in a dish and in mice. Tumors in mice do not always behave like tumors in people. No person with a meningioma was treated in this study. The safe dose in people is not known. This is early lab and animal research, and it is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, June 30, 2026 · Read the original
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