IDH-Mutant Brain Tumors Hit the Achilles’ Heel of Macrophages with R-2-Hydroxyglutarate

Abstract

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations produce high levels of the 'oncometabolite' R-2-hydroxyglutarate (R-2-HG) and play a key role in the initiation and progression of glioma tumors in the brain. A recent study in Nature Cancer by Friedrich et al. describes how IDH-mutant-derived R-2-HG elicits an immunosuppressive phenotype in glioma-associated macrophages. As such, the authors uncovered a new vulnerability that can be exploited for therapy.