Japanese researchers have found a method of blocking the growth of human brain tumor cells, suppressing their migration and inducing programmed cell death, according to a study in the U.S. online science magazine Nature Medicine.

The team, led by Shogo Ishiuchi, a teaching assistant at Gunma University's department of neurosurgery, examined the role of calcium-permeable glutamate receptors on cells of glioblastoma and found that making them calcium-impermeable inhibited tumor cell migration, according to the study.

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most malignant tumor in the central nervous system and is known for its highly migratory and invasive behavior, according to the research team.

Surgery is ineffective and prognosis is very poor for sufferers.

The calcium-permeable receptors may be a therapeutic target in treating brain tumors, and the introduction of a gene or chemical antagonist that blocks them is expected to become an effective glioblastoma treatment, it said.

According to the article, the team focused on the glutamate receptor on the surface of the cells that regulates calcium intake.

"Because glial cells respond to a variety of external stimuli, the malignant characteristics of glioblastomas could be regulated at least partly via activation of surface receptors," the researchers wrote in the article.

By studying cultures of glioblastoma cells from 16 surgical samples, the team confirmed that receptors were made calcium-permeable.

When the researchers applied chemical substances that hamper overall activity in the receptors, tumor growth rate and size fell significantly, they said.

The team also confirmed the result using a mouse model of human glioblastoma, they said.