Overcoming Glioblastoma Chemotherapy Resistance With A ‘Kiss’

To date, Temozolomide (TMZ), the standard chemotherapy drug for Glioblastoma (GBM), remains as the golden treatment yet it is faced  with various chemoresistance issues. Resulting in the majority of GBM patients relapsing after initial response and surviving for approximately 15 months due to tumour recurrence.  Protein-based therapy showed many promising outcomes in various cancers with little side effects. Kisspeptin, a non toxic protein, initially discovered for its role in regulating many reproductive processes,  also showed a potential of aiding  the activity of various chemotherapeutic drugs in various cancers. Our data shows a high expression of the kisspeptin receptor in human GBM cells although GBM is not kisspeptin-producing cells. Based on this, the combination of TMZ and Kisspeptin showed to further reduce the cell viability of GBM cells more than the TMZ single treatment, while kisspeptin treatment did not affect GBM cell viability when treated solo. Moreover, my study in diving into understanding the mechanism of action this combination is working through. Elucidation of possible mechanism(s) may provide the essential information to further justify the potential therapeutic avenue of repurposing kisspeptin in GBM treatment.