Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 03, 2025 2 hours, 56 minutes ago
Medical News: Glucocorticoids Could Help Disarm Immune Shields in Brain Cancer
A groundbreaking study by researchers from the University of Perugia in Italy reveals that dexamethasone—a common steroid drug used to treat swelling in brain cancer patients—may play a more complex role than previously understood. The team found that in certain types of glioblastoma, dexamethasone not only controls inflammation but may also weaken the tumor's ability to hide from the immune system.
Glucocorticoids Show Surprising Effects on Brain Tumor Immune Shield
Glioblastoma is a deadly and aggressive brain tumor that is notoriously difficult to treat. One reason is its ability to evade the immune system through a protein called PD-L1. This protein acts like a shield, blocking immune cells from attacking the tumor. In this
Medical News report, scientists explored how dexamethasone affects the production of PD-L1 in glioblastoma cells.
The researchers studied two glioblastoma cell lines—U87 and U251—and discovered that while dexamethasone boosted levels of a protein called GILZ in both, its effects on PD-L1 varied. In the U87 cells, PD-L1 levels dropped after treatment, potentially making the tumor more visible to the immune system. However, in the U251 cells, PD-L1 levels actually increased, which could make the tumor more resistant to immune attack. This difference suggests that not all glioblastoma cells react the same way to the drug.
How GILZ and ERK Are Involved
To dig deeper, the team found that GILZ—short for glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper—acts as a key player in this process. In U87 cells, increasing GILZ led to a drop in PD-L1 levels, while silencing GILZ reversed this effect. The scientists also uncovered that this chain reaction involved another molecule called ERK. When GILZ levels went up, ERK activity went down, leading to lower PD-L1. This points to a GILZ–ERK–PD-L1 pathway that may control how glioblastoma hides from the immune system.
Interestingly, while PD-L1 dropped in U87 cells, dexamethasone also made these cells multiply faster. This means the drug may make the tumor easier to detect, but it could also speed up its growth—posing a complicated challenge for treatment strategies.
Why It Matters for Cancer Therapy
The findings raise both hope and caution. On one hand, lowering PD-L1 levels might make tumors more responsive to immune-based therapies like checkpoint inhibitors. On the other hand, if the drug makes cancer cells grow faster, it could work against its own benefits. Doctors often prescribe dexamethasone to brain cancer patients to reduce swelling, but this study shows it may also change how tumors behave at a molecular level.
The study was conducted by Sabrina Adorisio, Giorgia Renga, Domenico Vittorio Delfino, and Emira Ayroldi from the Department of Medicine and Surgery and Foligno Nursing School at the University of Perugia.
These findings open the do
or for future research into how steroids like dexamethasone could be used more carefully—or even in combination with immunotherapy—to better fight brain cancer. However, more tests in animal models and real patients are needed before any new treatment strategies can be developed.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Biomedicines
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/8/1793
For the latest on brain cancers, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
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