Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41750122›Full record

ArticleBrain sciences2026

Arsenic Trioxide and the MNK1 Inhibitor AUM001 Exert Synergistic Anti-Glioblastoma Effects by Modulating Key Translational, Cell Cycle, and Transmembrane Transport Pathways.

Yue Hao, Charles Shaffer, Nanyun Tang, Valerie DeLuca, Angela Baker, Michael E Berens

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

6 authors.

Yue HaoClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5065-8906
Charles ShafferClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Nanyun TangClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Valerie DeLucaClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9037-9875
Angela BakerClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Michael E BerensClinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3382-6787

Funding

Tasquinimod as an adjunct to immunotherapies administered peri-operativelyU19CA264512 · NCI · BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE · PI Behnam Badie, Jana Portnow · 2021 to 2026
$6.0M
Ivy Foundation N/ANCI NIH HHS U19 CA264512NCI NIH HHS U19CA264512
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe profound heterogeneity of glioblastoma and the often-limited efficacy of conventional treatments, including arsenic trioxide (ATO), underscore the urgent and critical demand for innovative combination strategies specifically designed to overcome treatment resistance.

methodsWe evaluated the therapeutic effects of ATO as a single agent and in combination with the MNK1 inhibitor AUM001 across patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and investigated molecular determinants of sensitivity and synergy. Our results demonstrated that GBM models resistant to ATO, particularly those of the mesenchymal subtype, are more likely to show synergistic cytotoxicity when AUM001 is added. The combination significantly reduces the frequency of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) compared to either drug alone, especially in ATO-resistant models.

resultsThese observations suggest that targeting the MNK1 pathway in conjunction with ATO is a promising strategy to specifically eradicate GSCs, which are major drivers of GBM recurrence and therapeutic failure. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that ATO sensitivity correlated with activated translation-related pathways and cell cycle processes, while synergistic responses to the combination were driven by distinct molecular signatures in different GBM subtypes. Overall, synergistic response to the combination therapy is more associated with cellular organization, amino acid transmembrane transporter activity, ion channels, extracellular matrix organization and collagen formation.

conclusionsOur findings highlight that specific molecular pathways and their activities, including those involving translation, cell cycle and ion transport, appear to modulate the synergistic efficacy of the ATO and AUM001 combination, thereby offering potential biomarkers for improved patient stratification in future GBM clinical trials of such ATO-based treatments.

Indexed as

arsenic trioxideglioblastomaglioblastoma stem cellsMNK1 inhibitorsynergy

Identifiers

PMID41750122
PMCPMC12938313

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.