Analysis of protein level and RNA expression of the DNA-repair enzyme MGMT and p53 in human glioblastomas

Introduction: Despite the improvement in neurosurgery and radiotherapy the prognosis of malignant glioma remains poor. Migration and high invasiveness as well as the poor sensitivity to radio- and chemotherapy play key roles in the progression of this tumor. Inhibition of chemotherapy resistance, particularly against alkylating agents, might be new therapeutic approaches. The DNA-repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) reverses alkylation at the O6 position of guanine. In brain tumors MGMT status decreases with increasing grading but only a minority of glioblastomas showed sensitivity to alky…