The University of Toledo Translation Journal of Medical Sciences 
Haematology Oncology Abstract, Department of Medicine Research Symposium UTJMS 2023 May 5; 11(1):e1-e1 

The Dominant Negative IQGAP1(IR-WW) 
Domain as a Potential Therapy in Brain 
Cancer 

V. Iyer, MSBS1*, X. Fan; M. Osman, PhD 

1Division of Haematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University 
of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614 

*Corresponding author: Mahasin.osman@utoledo.edu

Published: 05 May 2023 

Glioblastoma is a lethal brain tumor that currently has no effective treatment due to a lack of therapeutic 
targets. IQGAP1 is an oncoprotein that normally acts as a signaling scaffold that regulates diverse 
cellular functions which underlie cell dynamics, architecture, and proliferation. Genetic mutant analysis 
in breast cancer cells has shown that the various domains of IQGAP1 have distinct effects on cell 
proliferation. IQGAP1 is localized to the centrosome, and phosphorylation-cycling of IQGAP1 is 
important for its subcellular localization as well as its nucleocytoplasmic shuttling that regulates its role 
in cytokinesis. Research in our lab showed that expression of the dominant- negative (unphosphorylated) 
IQGAP1IR-WW fragment arrests cytokinesis and can serve as basis for potential future therapy in 
cancer. Our experiment tested this hypothesis in brain cancer cell lines.  

Preliminary results showed that the overexpression of IQGAP1IR-WW in glioblastoma cells decreased 
cell proliferation and led to multinucleated cells. These results are consistent with our previous findings 
in cervical cancer cells and present IQGAP1 as a clinical target in oncology. 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-734 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-734
mailto:Mahasin.osman@utoledo.edu