Interaction of opioid neuropeptides with ASIC1a resolved

Stem cells of glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain tumor, express functional Acid-Sensing Ion channel (ASIC) 1a. It was unclear, however, which role ASIC1a has for a brain tumor. In our most recent publication, which was published in Cell Death & Disease, we show that a slight acidosis, which is common for the microenvironment of glioblastoma, elicits regulated cell death via ASIC1a. The cell death shares some properties with necroptosis but is not identical to the canonical necroptosis pathway. Our study identifies a new pathway that could shape the evolution of a tumor in its acidic microenvironment and shows that pharmacological activation of ASIC1a might be a potential new strategy in tumor therapy.