Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41361767›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2025

Integrated screening for small molecules interfering with PKM2: a drug repurposing strategy against glioblastoma.

Susan Costantini, Isabella Romeo, Giulia Fanelli, Maria Serena Roca, Gianmarco Gualtieri, Palmina Bagnara, Andrea Polo, Elena Di Gennaro, Francesco Ortuso, Stefano Alcaro and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Susan Costantini *Experimental Pharmacology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Isabella Romeo *Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università "Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro, Campus "S. Venuta", Catanzaro, 88100, Italy.
Giulia FanelliCellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS - Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, 00144, Italy.
Maria Serena RocaExperimental Pharmacology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Gianmarco GualtieriDipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università "Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro, Campus "S. Venuta", Catanzaro, 88100, Italy.
Palmina BagnaraExperimental Pharmacology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Andrea PoloExperimental Pharmacology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Elena Di GennaroExperimental Pharmacology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Francesco OrtusoDipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università "Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro, Campus "S. Venuta", Catanzaro, 88100, Italy.
Stefano AlcaroDipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università "Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro, Campus "S. Venuta", Catanzaro, 88100, Italy.
Alfredo BudillonScientific Directorate, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS-Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Gennaro CilibertoScientific Directorate, IRCCS - Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, 00144, Italy.
Marco G PaggiCellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS - Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, 00144, Italy. marco.paggi@ifo.it.
Claudia AbbruzzeseCellular Networks and Molecular Therapeutic Targets, Proteomics Unit, IRCCS - Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, 00144, Italy. claudia.abbruzzese@ifo.it.ORCID 0000-0003-3301-9421

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGlioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive adult brain tumor, remains a significant clinical challenge. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), by shifting between its tetrameric (metabolic) and dimeric (oncogenic) forms, drives GBM metabolism and tumorigenesis, regulating the Warburg effect. This study explores a drug repurposing strategy to identify clinically approved medications capable of stabilizing PKM2 in its tetrameric form, thus disrupting GBM metabolic adaptability and oncogenic potential.

methodsWe employed a multi-step screening strategy that integrates virtual screening, pharmacological data analysis, and in vitro cellular assays performed on anchorage-dependent and -independent GBM cell lines. This methodological process highlights the potential of repurposable drugs to target a cancer-specific metabolic vulnerability, thereby accelerating the development of novel therapeutic strategies for GBM.

resultsFrom thousands of clinically approved drugs, we selected, among those potentially able to cross the blood-brain barrier, three candidates that significantly inhibited GBM cell viability, reduced PKM2 nuclear localization, and impaired glycolytic activity, suggesting their potential to attenuate the Warburg effect and tumor malignancy.

conclusionsWe established a detailed screening protocol for drug repurposing to treat GBM. This approach targets a critical vulnerability of GBM cells by disrupting their bioenergetic balance. Since metabolic reprogramming and the associated Warburg effect are hallmarks of many cancers, not just GBM, we believe this approach holds significant potential for use against a wider range of tumors.

Indexed as

Brain NeoplasmsCarrier ProteinsDrug RepositioningGlioblastomaMembrane ProteinsPyruvate KinaseSmall Molecule LibrariesThyroid HormonesAntineoplastic AgentsCell Line, TumorCell NucleusCell SurvivalDrug Screening Assays, AntitumorGlycolysisHumansThyroid Hormone-Binding ProteinsAntineoplastic AgentsCarrier ProteinsMembrane ProteinsPyruvate KinaseSmall Molecule LibrariesThyroid Hormone-Binding ProteinsThyroid HormonesDrug repurposingDrug screeningGlioblastomaPKM2

Identifiers

PMID41361767
PMCPMC12683798

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.