Lower LRIG1 expression linked to aggressive gliomas
“Our results reinforce suggestions that LRIG1-3 could function as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in the treatment of gliomas”
2025-11-12
(Press-News.org)
“Our results reinforce suggestions that LRIG1-3 could function as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in the treatment of gliomas.”
BUFFALO, NY – November 12, 2025 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget (Volume 16) on November 6, 2025, titled “LRIG1-3 in gliomas: LRIG1 protein expression decreased in higher grade gliomas.”
In this study by Marlene Happe, Saskia Kuhl, Lukas Görtz, Roland Goldbrunner and Marco Timmer, from the University of Cologne, researchers found that the LRIG1 protein, which may help suppress tumors, is present at lower levels in more aggressive gliomas, a type of brain tumor. The findings suggest that LRIG1 could serve as a useful marker for tumor severity and potentially as a target for future therapies.
Gliomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults and carry a poor prognosis, particularly in their most severe form, glioblastoma. This study investigated three related proteins: LRIG1, LRIG2, and LRIG3, which are involved in regulating cell growth signals. While LRIG1 and LRIG3 have shown tumor-suppressing effects in previous studies, LRIG2 is thought to support tumor growth. The researchers analyzed tumor samples from patients to understand how these proteins behave across different glioma grades and how they respond to chemotherapy.
The results showed that LRIG1 protein levels decline significantly as tumor grade increases. Low-grade gliomas displayed much higher LRIG1 expression than high-grade tumors. Among high-grade tumors, primary glioblastomas had the lowest levels of LRIG1. Interestingly, secondary glioblastomas, which typically develop from lower-grade tumors, had higher levels of LRIG1 than primary glioblastomas. This difference may contribute to their relatively better clinical outcomes. These results highlight LRIG1’s potential role in slowing tumor progression.
In contrast, LRIG2 showed a more complex pattern. While its gene expression was higher in lower-grade tumors, the actual protein levels were slightly elevated in higher-grade ones, which are more aggressive. This mismatch suggests that processes occurring after gene transcription may influence how much LRIG2 protein is produced.
“However, our data on LRIG2 indicate that its role in glioma may be more complex than previously thought, warranting further investigation.”
Concerning LRIG3, it was found in higher amounts in glioma tissue compared to surrounding healthy tissue. Its expression was particularly high in low-grade tumors. However, chemotherapy did not consistently affect LRIG3 levels, and results varied depending on tumor type and treatment status.
Overall, the study suggests that members of the LRIG protein family, especially LRIG1, could serve as important biomarkers to distinguish between glioma types and grades. Although chemotherapy did not significantly change their expression in most cases, these proteins have high potential as diagnostic tools or therapeutic targets. Further research is needed to better understand their roles in glioma development and treatment response.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28775
Correspondence to: Marco Timmer – marco.timmer@uk-koeln.de
Abstract video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHsKLBEyBbM
Keywords: cancer, oncology, glioma, glioblastoma, LRIG1, LRIG2, LRIG3
Click here to sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article.
________
About Oncotarget:
Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
Oncotarget is indexed and archived by PubMed/Medline, PubMed Central, Scopus, EMBASE, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).
To learn more about Oncotarget, visit Oncotarget.com and connect with us on social media:
X
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Spotify, and available wherever you listen to podcasts
Click here to subscribe to Oncotarget publication updates.
For media inquiries, please contact media@impactjournals.com
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2025-11-12
A cutting-edge consortium project called Understanding large and cOmplex Power sYstems (UTOPYS) will enable researchers to build the world’s largest research cluster for real-time energy system studies. The project is led by Principal Investigator Prof. Peter Palensky of TU Delft, and is comprised of eight Dutch research organisations, and SURF - the IT cooperative of education and research. It has been awarded a huge grant of 16.5 million euros through the Large-Scale Research Infrastructure ...
2025-11-12
About The Study: This study found that intimate physical contact can reduce cortisol responses and, along with oxytocin administration, promote wound healing. These findings provide a foundation for future interventions that integrate relationship dynamics and neurohormonal modulation to improve health and recovery from illness.
Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Beate Ditzen, PhD (b.ditzen@psychologie.uzh.ch) and Ekaterina Schneider, PhD (e.schneider@psychologie.uzh.ch).
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3705)
Editor’s ...
2025-11-12
(Toronto, November 12, 2025) JMIR Publications is pleased to announce an agreement with Signals Manuscript Checks to leverage their tool across their entire portfolio.
JMIR Publications, a leading publisher in digital medicine, health technology and sciences, has begun evaluating article submissions with Signals Manuscript Checks — a tool that provides automated and transparent evaluations of manuscripts to identify research integrity issues, and enables AI-supported investigations of manuscripts through Sleuth AI, Signals’ AI-powered research integrity assistant.
With Signals Manuscript Checks, JMIR Publications aims to increase the efficiency and ...
2025-11-12
New York, November 12, 2025 — A research team at the City University of New York and the University of Texas at Austin has discovered a way to make previously hidden states of light, known as dark excitons, shine brightly, and control their emission at the nanoscale. Their findings, published today in Nature Photonics, open the door to faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient technologies.
Dark excitons are exotic light-matter states in atomically thin semiconductors that typically remain invisible because they emit light very weakly. These states, however, are highly ...
2025-11-12
NEW YORK, NY and SANTA BARBARA, CA — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (GFMR) are pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the Grants for Junior Faculty, Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research, and Postdoctoral Fellowship Continuation Awards. Selected through rigorous review processes led by scientific committees of esteemed leaders in aging ...
2025-11-12
Chronic liver disease (CLD) and its advanced stage, cirrhosis, represent a significant global health burden, with portal hypertension (PH) being a primary driver of disease progression and decompensation. A hallmark of this condition is thrombocytopenia, defined as a platelet count ≤150,000/μL, which is present in 64–77% of cirrhotic patients. This hematological abnormality is not merely a laboratory finding but a distinctive sign of PH and a component of prognostic risk scores for adverse liver outcomes. This essay elucidates the multifactorial ...
2025-11-12
SAN ANTONIO — November 12, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a method to automate the calibration of heavy-duty diesel truck emissions control systems using machine learning and algorithm-based optimization. The latest diesel aftertreatment systems often take weeks to calibrate. SwRI’s new method can calibrate them in as little as two hours.
“Manually calibrating selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems is labor-intensive, often taking six or more weeks of testing and work,” said Venkata Chundru, senior research engineer in SwRI’s Advanced ...
2025-11-12
More than 300,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer globally each year.
The four-year clinical trial across 15 Australian hospitals – known as SOLACE2 – was co-led by the University of Sydney NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, RMIT University and WEHI, and coordinated by the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG).
The Phase II trial tested strategies for priming the immune system to enhance the effectiveness of PARP inhibitor therapy, which stops cancer cells from repairing their own damaged DNA by blocking the PARP enzyme.
It was during this trial that a new companion blood test for women with ovarian cancer was also ...
2025-11-12
PHILADELPHIA—Regional anesthesia—typically with a spinal or epidural block—has long been favored for cesarean births due in part to concerns about the effects that general anesthesia may have on newborns during labor and delivery. Powerful societal pressures also push the idea that mothers need to be awake during delivery to witness the first cry and capture the ‘perfect’ birth moment. But for some women who undergo a cesarean birth, the pain can become excruciating, even after they received a spinal or epidural block. Now, new research from a team at the Perelman School of Medicine at the ...
2025-11-12
A new study from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, published in journal Menopause, finds self-pleasure is a valuable care strategy for managing menopause symptoms, especially mood and sleep changes. Most women are open to trying it, yet few say their doctors have ever mentioned it.
Researchers surveyed a demographically representative sample of 1,178 women ages 40 to 65 in the United States about their experiences with menopause and the effectiveness of their current symptom management strategies including hormone therapy, supplements, lifestyle factors, and sexual pleasure, among others.
Almost 14% of perimenopausal women reported using regular masturbation ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Lower LRIG1 expression linked to aggressive gliomas
“Our results reinforce suggestions that LRIG1-3 could function as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in the treatment of gliomas”
