HSPA5 and FGFR1 genes in the mesenchymal subtype of glioblastoma can improve a treatment efficacy

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have emerged as a potential treatment strategy for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). However, their efficacy is limited by various drug resistance mechanisms. To devise more effective treatments for GBM, genetic characteristics must be considered in addition to pre-existing treatments. We performed an integrative analysis with heterogeneous GBM datasets of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data from DepMap, TCGA and CPTAC. We found that poor prognosis was induced by co-upregulation of heat shock protein family A member 5 (HSPA5) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1). Co-up regulation of these two genes could regulate the PI3K/AKT pathway. GBM cell lines with co-upregulation of these two genes showed higher drug sensitivity to PI3K inhibitors. In the mesenchymal subtype, the co-upregulation of FGFR1 and HSPA5 resulted in the most malignant subtype of GBM. Furthermore, we found this newly discovered subtype was correlated with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) In conclusion, we discovered novel druggable candidates within the group exhibiting co-upregulation of these two genes in GBM, suggest potential strategies for combination therapy.