Blocking an enzyme made glioblastoma cells act less like stem cells in lab tests
Original title: Differentiation therapy targeting indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 in glioblastoma cells in vitro.
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 with cells in dishes in a lab, not in people.
The short version
In lab dishes, blocking one enzyme made tough glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells respond better to a common brain tumor drug.
What was studied. Researchers worked with glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells grown in the lab, not with people. They used a known cell line called U-87MG plus two new cell lines made from tumors, and they treated some of the cells with a drug that blocks an enzyme called IDO1.
What they found. glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary stem-like cells normally grow in floating balls called spheres. When IDO1 was blocked, the cells made fewer spheres and started sticking to the dish, which is how more ordinary tumor cells behave. Levels of IDO1 and of stem cell markers went down in every cell line that got the blocking drug. Those cells were also killed more easily by the drug temozolomide than the untreated stem-like cells were.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary stem-like cells are believed to be part of why glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary resists treatment. This work suggests one possible way to push those cells into a state where chemotherapy works better. It is an early idea that researchers can now test further.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. All of this happened in cells growing in dishes in a lab. No people were treated, and no animals were tested either. Lab results often do not hold up when they are tried in people. This is not a cure and it is many years and many studies away from anything a doctor could offer you.
Source: PubMed, July 21, 2026 · Read the original
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