A new research study conducted by Texas A&M University in the US indicated the use of circadian rhythms for new therapies to treat glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, in adults.
The researchers found that timed production of a protein called p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) that is associated with tumour proliferation and growth is disrupted in glioblastoma cells.
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They believe that this finding might aid in developing an effective technique to target the tumour cells without impacting the surrounding healthy tissue.
The current research aimed to demonstrate that the biological clock controls the daily rhythms of p38 MAPK activity in various mammalian cells such as the normal glial cells present around neurons.
It was further revealed that such regulation by the clock is not present in the cells of glioblastoma.
Texas A&M biologist Deborah Bell-Pedersen said: “We tested to see if inhibition of this cancer-promoting protein in glioblastoma cells would alter their invasive properties.
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By GlobalData“Indeed, we found that inhibition of p38 MAPK at specific times of the day-times when the activity is low in normal glial cells under control of the circadian clock significantly reduced glioblastoma cell invasiveness to the level of non-invasive glioma cells.”
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that this type of brain cancer could be an ideal candidate for chronochemotherapy, which involves treatment at specific times of the day.
They further believe that administration of a drug at a time when the normal glial cells naturally have low activity of p38 MAPK could reduce toxicity to these cells but still be effective on the cancerous cells.
While the research was carried out using cell cultures, the team plans to proceed to testing the p38 inhibitor chronochemotherapy in an animal model for glioblastoma, followed by possible clinical trials.
