A protein called SON may help brain tumors resist radiation
Original title: SON-mediated circular RNA suppression promotes PKR signaling and radiation resistance in glioblastoma
How far along is this research?
This is a preprint. Other scientists have not checked it yet, so treat it as an early signal rather than an answer.
This was only done in tumor cells in a lab.
The short version
In lab tests, lowering one protein made radiation-resistant tumor cells easier to kill.
What was studied. Scientists studied 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, including cells made to resist radiation. They lowered a protein called SON and watched what changed inside the cells.
What they found. 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 were missing many ring-shaped pieces of RNA. SON appeared to hold those rings down, and rings went back up when SON was lowered. Putting two of the rings back made radiation-resistant cells less able to survive radiation. The original cells changed little.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to one way tumors may learn to shrug off radiation. It could someday lead to drugs that make radiation work again. That testing has not started in people.
What it doesn't mean: This is early lab work in cells, not a treatment. No person was treated or tested here. It does not change the care you get today. It is not a cure, and it is not a promise of one.
Source: bioRxiv (preprint), September 29, 2026 · Read the original
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