A protein that helps brain tumors build blood vessels
Original title: FGFR1-driven brachyury promotes endothelial-like differentiation of glioblastoma stem cells via SOX2/ZEB1/YAP1 signaling pathways.
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 and in mice, not in people.
The short version
Tests in cells and mice found a way to slow the blood vessels that feed brain tumors.
What was studied. Researchers looked at 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, a fast growing brain tumor. They used tumor cells taken from patients, mice with those tumors, and data from tumor tissue records.
What they found. A protein called brachyury was high in 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 tissue. A receptor called FGFR1 switched it on, which helped tumor stem cells turn into blood vessel cells. In mice, blocking FGFR1 with a drug called E7090, or editing the brachyury gene, slowed new blood vessels and tumor growth. In patient records, lower levels of these genes went with living longer.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new target for 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. Drugs that block FGFR already exist, so this may help shape future studies. It does not change care today.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment is ready. The work was done in cells and in mice, which is the earliest stage of research. No one has tested this in people with brain tumors yet. Many findings in mice do not work the same way in people. This is not a cure, and it is not a promise of one.
Source: PubMed, November 3, 2026 · Read the original
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