New method eradicates deadly brain tumors by 'starving' them

The research was led by PhD student Rita Perelroizen, under the supervision of Dr.

The researchers explained: "Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive and aggressive type of brain cancer for which there is currently no known effective treatment

Dr.

Using an animal model, they could eliminate the active astrocytes surrounding the tumor, and the researchers found that in the presence of astrocytes, the cancer killed all patients with glioblastoma within 4-5 weeks animal

Dr.

They found two major differences that led to the identification of changes that occurred when astrocytes were exposed to glioblastoma

A second change in astrocytes supporting glioblastoma is by modulating their energy harvesting—by producing cholesterol and transferring it to tumor cells

Next, the researchers engineered astrocytes near the tumor to stop expressing a specific protein that transports cholesterol (ABCA1), preventing them from releasing cholesterol to the tumor

Dr Mayo noted: "This work sheds light on the role of the blood-brain barrier in the treatment of brain disorders

The project also examined databases from hundreds of human glioblastoma patients and linked them to the above results

Dr.

Rita Perelroizen, Bar Philosof, Noga Budick-Harmelin, Tom Chernobylsky, Ariel Ron, Rotem Katzir, Dor Shimon, Adi Tessler, Orit Adir, Anat Gaoni-Yogev, Tom Meyer, Avivit Krivitsky, Nuphar Shidlovsky, Asaf Madi, Eytan Ruppin, Lior Mayo.

Kai Murk, Robert Hülse.