Biomedical researchers at the University of Central Florida have found a protein that could hold the key to treating one of the most common and aggressive brain tumors in adults.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is by far the most common and most malignant of the glial tumors. Attention was recently drawn to this form of brain cancer when Senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with glioblastoma and ultimately died from it.Of the estimated 17,000 primary brain tumors diagnosed in the United States each year, approximately 60% are gliomas. Glioblastomas primarily affect adults, and they are located preferentially in the cerebral hemispheres. Much less commonly, glioblastoma multiforme can affect the brainstem (especially in children) and the spinal cord.
There is no cure, and treatments have limited success. They consist of surgically removing the tumor from the brain, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. About half of the patients don’t survive for more than a year after their diagnosis.
Growth control of cancer cell populations has been studied extensively over the past decades and research has identified a multitude of proteins involved in the process yet transmembrane ion channels were initially among the more surprising protein candidates.While their exact role in the physiology of cell proliferation remains tentative, many ion channel blockers also retard cell population growth, which supports the notion that ion channels are an intrinsic component of the cell cycle. It is, therefore, not surprising that ion channels are pursued as potential targets in the development of new anticancer drugs
TRPC6 is one such receptor channel protein found in most, if not all, cells in the body. It promotes cell growth during development of the central nervous system.Chan and his team ran several experiments with cancerous brain tissue obtained from Florida Hospital in Orlando and Duke University Medical Center. They found that this protein is strongly expressed and functional in brain tumor cells. Further research found that they could stop the growth and spread of tumors by knocking down the expression of this protein.”Collectively, our studies indicate that TRPC6 is a key mediator of tumor growth of GBM. It may be a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of human GBM,” said Sic L. Chan, the UCF assistant professor of Neuroscience who led the team of scientists.
It is the first time such findings have been made with this particular kind of brain tumor.
“This is very exciting, because our work will help patients in the future,” said UCF research fellow Srinivasulu Chigurupati, who worked on the team. “Malignant gliomas remain one of the most devastating cancers despite recent advancements.”
UCF’s research findings are published in the Jan. 1, 2010, edition of the journal Cancer Research.
Others who contributed to the research include Raji Venkataraman, Daniel Barrera, Anusha Naganathan, Meenu Madan, Leena Paul, Jogi V. Pattisapu, George A. Kyriazis and Kiminobu Sugaya from UCF; Sergey Bushnev from Florida Hospital Cancer Institute; and Justin D. Lathia and Jeremy N. Rich from the Duke University Medical Center and the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.