A protein called MRPL23 is linked to shorter survival in glioblastoma
Original title: MRPL23 Overexpression Predicts Poor Survival and Is Associated with Mitochondrial Respiratory Signatures in Glioblastoma.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
Researchers only looked at tumor samples and records from people, so nothing here is a treatment yet.
The short version
Tumors with high levels of a protein called MRPL23 were tied to a shorter survival time.
What was studied. Researchers studied tumor tissue from 89 people with glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. They compared it with 36 samples of nearby brain tissue that was not tumor. They also checked stored data from 296 other glioblastoma tumors.
What they found. MRPL23 levels were higher in the tumor tissue than in the non-tumor brain tissue. People whose tumors had high MRPL23 lived a shorter time. In this group the survival time was 13.5 months, compared with 21 months for people with lower levels. The stored data from the other 296 tumors pointed the same way. High MRPL23 also went along with higher levels of certain proteins the cell uses to make energy.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This protein might one day help doctors judge how aggressive a glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary is likely to be. It could also point researchers toward a part of the tumor cell worth studying more. It does not change how glioblastoma is treated today.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment, and it is not a cure. Nobody was given a drug in this study. Researchers only looked at tumor tissue and stored records, so this shows a link, not a cause. There is no test for MRPL23 that a patient can ask for right now. Work like this is early, and it would take years of more research before it could change care.
Source: PubMed, July 10, 2026 · Read the original
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