A Cell & Bioscience study linked adenylate kinase 2 (AK2) overexpression to glioma progression and identified venetoclax as a potent inhibitor candidate in preclinical work. The researchers reported AK2 levels increased with tumor grade and correlated with worse clinical outcomes. AK2 silencing suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in vitro and reduced tumor growth in orthotopic mouse models, alongside evidence for an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment marked by checkpoint and HLA changes and association with M2 macrophages. Using structure-based virtual screening, the team highlighted venetoclax as the strongest candidate in their assay set—while explicitly stating the data do not prove venetoclax directly targets AK2. The findings position AK2 as a biomarker and a potential pathway for therapeutic exploration in glioma.