Novel drug target identified for glioblastoma treatment

Written by Peter Brown, Future Science Group

A group of researchers led by Masaharu Noda and Akihiro Fujikawa of the National Institute for Basic Biology (Okazaki, Japan) have recently demonstrated that the pharmacological inhibition of R5 receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs) by a small molecule, termed NAZ2329, could be a promising strategy for the treatment of malignant gliomas. Glioblastoma is the most malignant brain tumor with high mortality. Cancer stem cells are thought to be crucial for tumor initiation and its recurrence after standard therapy with radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy. The R5 subfamily of RPTPs comprises protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type Z (PTPRZ) and protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type...

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