The discovery of a previously unknown molecular target has inspired what may become a therapeutic breakthrough for people with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive brain cancer.
such as temozolomide, the standard chemotherapy approved to treat glioblastoma, temozolomide-resistant tumors recur in more than 50% of patients with less than 1% surviving 10 years after diagnosis., a research team at The Hospital for Sick Children showcased a new potential treatment approach for glioblastoma called a designer peptide, which targets a protein-protein interaction in the glioblastoma cells.
"By uncovering the role of a previously unknown protein-protein interaction in glioblastoma, we were able to develop a designer peptide which possesses robust therapeutic efficacy in treating all major types of glioblastoma in preclinical models," says Dr. Xi Huang, a Senior Scientist in the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology program."This could form the basis of next generation glioblastoma therapy.
"We examined these two proteins closely and found that when they interacted they created a potassium channel complex that is fundamental to the aggressive nature of the cancer," says Dong, a former Ph.D. student and current post-doctoral fellow in the Huang Lab."What's amazing is that this EAG2-Kvβ2 potassium channel complex appears to form only in glioblastoma cells, not healthy cells.
Excited by their findings, Huang's team began investigating this specific interaction as a potential target for glioblastoma treatment. They determined that EAG2-Kvβ2 interaction is required for neurons to communicate with glioblastoma cells, facilitating
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