A protein may help brain tumor cells resist chemo
Original title: KIF4A stabilizes TDP43 to promote DNA damage repair and temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma.
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.
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 survive a common chemo drug.
What was studied. Researchers looked at glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary gene data and tumor samples from patients. They also raised or lowered a protein called KIF4A 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 cells, and grew tumors in mice to test the chemo drug 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 they found. KIF4A levels were higher in more serious gliomas and in cells that resisted 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. Higher levels went along with poorer survival. When cells made more KIF4A, they survived the drug better and had less DNA damage. Turning KIF4A down made cells and mouse tumors respond better to the drug. KIF4A worked by protecting a second protein, TDP43, from being broken down.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new target. If a drug could block KIF4A, 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 might work better for some people. That idea still has to be tested.
What it doesn't mean: This is early lab and animal work. It was done in cells and in mice, not in people. There is no drug you can get that blocks KIF4A. It does not change any treatment today, and it is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, September 24, 2026 · Read the original
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