Why some brain tumor cells survive a copper treatment
Original title: AARS2-SIRT5-Driven DLD K445 Lactylation Promotes Cuproptosis Resistance in Glioblastoma Stem Cells.
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 lab cells and in animals, not in people.
The short version
Lab work found one reason tough glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells resist a copper-based treatment.
What was studied. This was lab research on glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary stem cells, which are the cells that help tumors come back. Researchers also tested tumor tissue grown from patients' own tumors and tumors grown in the brains of animals. They looked at a copper treatment called elesclomol-copper.
What they found. Copper can kill cells in a special way, but these tumor cells resist it. The team found a small chemical tag on a protein called DLD that blocks that kind of cell death. When they stopped that tag from forming, the cells died more easily with the copper treatment. Three different ways of blocking the tag all made the copper treatment work better in the lab tissue and in the animals.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: It points to a possible reason copper based treatments have not worked well on these cells. If the finding holds up, it could guide new drugs to pair with a copper treatment. For now it is a clue for researchers, not a treatment a doctor can offer.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment is ready. The work was done in cells, in tumor tissue grown in the lab, and in animals. It was not tested in people, so we do not know if it is safe or if it helps them live longer. It is not a cure, and it is a long way from everyday care.
Source: PubMed, September 29, 2026 · Read the original
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