A protein that stops immune cells from attacking brain tumors
Original title: LAIR1 suppresses phagocytosis via SHP2/USP22-mediated MYH9 degradation in glioma-associated microglia/macrophages to drive immunosuppression.
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 mice and in cells in the lab.
The short version
Scientists found a protein that keeps immune cells inside a brain tumor from eating tumor cells.
What was studied. Researchers studied a protein called LAIR1 in glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary, a type of brain tumor. They looked at it in human tumor samples, in mice, and in cells in the lab.
What they found. LAIR1 was found mostly on immune cells that live inside the tumor. Patients with many of these high-LAIR1 immune cells tended to live a shorter time. In mice bred without LAIR1, the tumors were smaller. Those immune cells also made tumors resist a common immune drug.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: LAIR1 could become a target for new brain tumor treatments. Blocking it might free the body's own immune cells to attack the tumor. It may also help explain why some immune drugs do not work well in glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment is ready. The work was done in lab cells, mouse models, and tumor samples. There is no LAIR1 drug that patients can get. Nothing here changes the care you get today, and it is not a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, October 8, 2026 · Read the original
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