Scripps Research scientists have discovered a compound that potently and selectively kills the stem-like cells that make glioblastoma brain cancers so deadly.
In a study published this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Scripps Research scientists found that the new compound, which they dubbed RIPGBM, kills glioblastoma stem-like cells cultured from patients’ tumors with more than 40 times the potency of the standard GBM drug temozolomide. They found too that RIPGBM is highly selective, sparing other types of brain cells, and that it powerfully suppresses the growth of GBM tumors in a mouse model of the disease.
“Our discovery of this compound and the cellular pathways it affects offers a promising new strategy for treating glioblastoma,” says principal investigator Luke Lairson, PhD, an assistant professor of chemistry at Scripps Research.
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