Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathologyOct 9, 2021

Blocking serine production may improve temozolomide treatment by lowering DNA repair and oxidative damage in brain cancer

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 25, 2026

Abstract

NCT503, a selective inhibitor, significantly enhances the efficacy of temozolomide in treating MGMT-positive glioblastoma cells.

Inhibition of the serine synthesis pathway (SSP) by NCT503 worked synergistically with temozolomide (TMZ) to suppress GBM cell growth and induce cell death in laboratory settings.
Combined treatment with NCT503 and TMZ showed greater inhibition of GBM growth and increased apoptosis in animal models compared to either treatment alone.
NCT503 treatment was associated with decreased expression of MGMT, potentially linked to changes in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species were observed with the combination treatment, suggesting a mechanism for enhanced therapeutic effects.
The synergistic effects of NCT503 and TMZ could be partially reduced by the reactive oxygen species scavenger NAC.

Simplified

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant primary tumor in the central nervous system of adults. Temozolomide (TMZ), an alkylating agent, is the first-line chemotherapeutic agent for GBM patients. However, its efficacy is often limited by innate or acquired chemoresistance. Cancer cells can rewire their metabolic programming to support rapid growth and sustain cell survival against chemotherapies. An example is the de novo serine synthesis pathway (SSP), one of the main branches from glycolysis that is highly activated in multiple cancers in promoting cancer progression and inducing chemotherapy resistance. However, the roles of SSP in TMZ therapy for GBM patients remain unexplored. In this study, we employed NCT503, a highly selective inhibitor of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH, the first rate-limiting enzyme of SSP), to study whether inhibition of SSP may enhance TMZ efficacy in MGMT-positive GBMs. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), flowcytometry and colony formation assays demonstrated that NCT503 worked synergistically with TMZ in suppressing GBM cell growth and inducing apoptosis in T98G and U118 cells in vitro. U118 and patient-derived GBM subcutaneous xenograft models showed that combined NCT503 and TMZ treatment inhibited GBM growth and promoted apoptosis more significantly than would each treatment alone in vivo. Mechanistically, we found that NCT503 treatment decreased MGMT expression possibly by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Moreover, intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species were elevated especially when NCT503 and TMZ treatments were combined, and the synergistic effects could be partially negated by NAC, a classic scavenger of reactive oxygen species. Taken together, these results suggest that NCT503 may be a promising agent for augmenting TMZ efficacy in the treatment of GBM, especially in TMZ-resistant GBMs with high expression of MGMT.

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Blocking serine production may improve temozolomide treatment by lowering DNA repair and oxidative damage in brain cancer

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