Why glioblastoma keeps beating treatment: Hidden signaling axis could open new drug path

Cancer research · Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma progression is driven by an OSMR–CLIC1 signaling axis that integrates microenvironmental cues, sustains brain tumor stem cells, and enhances metabolic stress resistance.

Recent research, published in *Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy*, identifies a novel OSMR–CLIC1 signaling axis that drives glioblastoma growth and confers resistance to therapy. The study demonstrates that OSMR interacts with chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1), with both proteins supporting brain tumor stem cell maintenance and metabolic adaptation. Genetic deletion or antibody-mediated blockade of membrane CLIC1 disrupts this axis, impairs downstream signaling, and slows tumor progression in preclinical models, highlighting a potential therapeutic vulnerability for glioblastoma.

Targeting the OSMR–CLIC1 axis could open a new therapeutic avenue for glioblastoma, a malignancy with limited effective treatments and poor survival rates.

Evidence level: Állatkísérletes. Állatmodellben vizsgálták.

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