A protein called FXYD5 may help brain tumor cells grow, lab and mouse study finds
Original title: FXYD5 promotes the growth of glioblastoma by targeting the PI3K/AKT/ACSL4 signaling axis.
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 tested on cells in a dish and in mice.
The short version
Scientists found a protein that seems to help 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 grow, but this was only tested in the lab and in mice.
What was studied. Researchers looked at a protein called FXYD5 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, a fast-growing brain tumor. They checked patient data, then tested the protein in tumor cells in the lab and in mice.
What they found. FXYD5 was higher 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, and patients with more of it tended to do worse. When the scientists lowered FXYD5 in tumor cells, the cells grew and spread less, and more of them died. In mice, a drug that blocks a signal FXYD5 turns on stopped the extra tumor growth that FXYD5 caused.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This gives scientists a new possible target for future 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 treatment. It helps them understand how these tumor cells use fat for fuel to grow.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. The work was done only in cells and in mice, not in people. Many steps and years of testing would be needed first. It is not a cure, and it does not change care today.
Source: PubMed, September 18, 2026 · Read the original
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