A protein rises when brain tumor cells run short of fuel
Original title: Glutamine deprivation elevates EFNB3 and its potential link to macropinocytosis in glioblastoma.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only done in cells in a dish and in tumor samples, not in people.
The short version
Lab tests found a protein that may help glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells survive when food runs low.
What was studied. Researchers looked at tumor samples from people with glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. They also grew glioblastoma cells in the lab and took away glutamine, a nutrient the cells need.
What they found. When glutamine was low, the cells made much more of a protein called EFNB3. The team thinks EFNB3 may help the cells pull in nutrients from around them. When they lowered EFNB3, the cells grew less and took in less food. Blocking a related cell signal also slowed this feeding, but did not change EFNB3 levels.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Tumor cells may have a way to keep feeding when nutrients run out. If that holds up, this protein could be a target for future drugs. For now it is a lead for scientists to study further.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment, and it is not a cure or a promise of one. The work was done in tumor samples and in cells in a dish. No patients were treated and nothing here was tested as a therapy. It is very early lab science, many years from everyday care.
Source: PubMed, October 30, 2026 · Read the original
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