Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Protein Variant May Have Potential as Target for Glioblastoma
Disease Discoveries

Protein Variant May Have Potential as Target for Glioblastoma

By Melissa RohmanApr 5, 2021
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD, professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology Division of Neuro-Oncology and a member of the Lurie Cancer Center, was co-senior author of the study published in Nature Cell Biology.

Inhibiting a novel protein variant within glioma stem cells may be a promising therapeutic approach to treat glioblastoma, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Cell Biology.

“With this study, we found a novel peptide, which is only highly expressed in cancer, activates the EGFR signaling pathway,” said Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD, professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology Division of Neuro-Oncology and co-senior author of the study.

Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, is associated with an average survival rate of 12 to 18 months, due to the tumor’s high plasticity which limits the effectiveness of current therapies.

Roughly half of glioblastoma tumors are associated with increased activation of the EGFR cell signaling pathway in tumor cells, a known oncogenic driver of tumor growth. However, previous work has found EGFR-targeting therapies are ineffective in treating patients with glioblastoma, emphasizing the need for novel therapeutic interventions.

For the current study, the investigators aimed to identify coding circular RNAs (circRNAs) — strands of RNA that form closed loops and are involved in various physiological processes — in glioblastoma tumor cells, and whether multiple rounds of circRNA translation generates proteins that could serve as potential therapeutic targets.

Using RNA sequencing and ribosomal profiling of paired normal and tumor tissue samples from vitro and in vivo models of glioblastoma, the team found that a novel E-cadherin protein variant called C-E-Cad is overexpressed in glioma stem cells.

Specifically, C-E-Cad binds to EGFR through a novel and unique 14 amino acid sequence at its tail and activates the EGFR signaling pathway independent of EGF, the prototype ligand that activates EGFR, thereby promoting cell proliferation and overall glioblastoma tumor growth.

Additionally, the team found that inhibiting C-E-Cad enhanced EGFR-targeting therapies, suggesting the approach may be promising for treating EGFR-driven glioblastoma.

“A specific anti-E-C-Cad antibody against this new 14 amino acid sequence, together with EGFR antibodies, enhances tumor suppression,” said Cheng, who is also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

This work was supported by the Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute at Northwestern Medicine.

Cancer Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Combination Treatment May Improve Quality of Life in Kidney Cancer

Jun 23, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Combination Treatment May Improve Quality of Life in Kidney Cancer

Jun 23, 2022

Calcium Channel Blockers May Improve Chemotherapy Response

Jun 21, 2022

Expanded Role for Calcium Channels in T-Cells

Jun 17, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0070
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0066
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0054
Northwestern University 2022. Photo by Jim Prisching
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0077
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0063
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0111
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0083
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0018
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0023
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0072 (2)
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0120

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.