Blocking a protein may help radiation work better against glioma in lab tests
Original title: Targeting USP14 sensitizes glioma to radiotherapy through exacerbated reactive oxygen species accumulation.
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 tested in lab cells and animals, not in people.
The short version
Scientists found a protein that may help 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 resist radiation, and blocking it helped radiation work better in the lab.
What was studied. Researchers looked at a protein called USP14 in 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, a type of brain tumor. They used patient data, tumor cells in the lab, and tests in living animals to see how it affects radiation treatment.
What they found. Patients whose tumors had high levels of this protein tended to do worse. Radiation made the tumor cells make more of the protein. When the protein was blocked, the cells came under more stress and built up more damage. In living animals, a drug that blocks the protein, given with radiation, slowed tumor growth and killed more tumor cells.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Radiation is a key treatment for 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, but some tumors resist it. This study points to a possible new way to help radiation work better. It gives researchers a new target to study.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment you can get. The work was done only in lab cells and animals, not in people. It would take many years of testing in people to know if it is safe or helps. This is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, September 12, 2026 · Read the original
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