Background Treatment for malignant glioma generally consists of cytoreductive surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study, we intended to investigate the effects of 2-propylpentanoic acid （VPA）, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity in human glioma cell lines. Methods Human glioma cell lines, T98-G, and SF295, were treated with temozolomide （TMZ） or irradiation （IR）, with or without VPA （1.0 mmol/L）. Then, cytotoxicity and clonogenic survival assay was performed. Cell cycle stage, apoptosis, and autophagy were also detected using flow cytometry and dansyl monocadaverin （MDC） incorporation assay. One-way analysis of variance （ANOVA） and t-test were used to analyze the differences among variant groups. Results Mild cytotoxicity of VPA was revealed in both cell lines, T98-G and SF295, with the 50% inhibiting concentration （IC50） value of （3.85±0.58） mmol/L and （2.15±0.38） mmol/L, respectively; while the IC50 value of TMZ was （0.20±0.09） mmol/L for T98-G and （0.08＋0.02） mmol/L for SF295. Moreover, if combined with VPA （1.0 mmol/L） for 96 hours, the sensitivity of glioma cells to TMZ was significant increased （P 〈0.05）. The surviving fractions at 2 Gy （SF2） of T98-G and SF295 cells exposed to IR alone were 0.52 and 0.58. However, when VPA was combined with IR, the SF2 of T98-G and SF295 dropped to 0.39 （P=0.047） and 0.49 （P=0.049）, respectively. Treatment with VPA plus TMZ or IR also resulted in a significant decrease in the proportion of cells in the G2 phase and increased apoptotic rates as well as autophagy in T98-G and SF295 cell lines （P 〈0.01）. Conclusion VPA may enhance the activities of TMZ and IR on glioma cells possibly through cell cycle block and promote autophagy, and thus could be a potential sensitizer of glioma treatment.
O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase(MGMT) can remove DNA alkylation adducts, thereby repairing damaged DNA and contributing to the drug resistance of gliomas to alkylating agents. In addition, glioma stem-like cells(GSCs) have been demonstrated to be involved in the recurrence and treatment resistance of gliomas. In this study, we aimed to investigate MGMT expression and regulatory mechanisms in GSCs and the association of MGMT with temozolomide(TMZ) sensitivity. GSCs were enriched from one MGMT-positive cell line(SF-767) and 7 MGMT-negative cell lines(U251, SKMG-4, SKMG-1, SF295, U87, MGR1, and MGR2) through serum-free clone culture. GSCs from the U251G, SKMG-4G, SF295G, and SKMG-1G cell lines became MGMT-positive, but those from the U87G, MGR1G, and MGR2G cell lines remained MGMT-negative. However, all the GSCs and their parental glioma cell lines were positive for nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB). In addition, GSCs were more resistant to TMZ than their parental glioma cell lines(P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the 50% inhibition concentration(IC50) of TMZ between MGMT-positive and MGMT-negative GSCs(P > 0.05). When we treated the MGMT-positive GSCs with TMZ plus MG-132(an NF-κB inhibitor), the antitumor activity was significantly enhanced compared to that of GSCs treated with TMZ alone(P < 0.05). Furthermore, we found that MGMT expression decreased through the down-regulation of NF-κB expression by MG-132. Our results show that MG-132 may inhibit NF-κB expression and further decrease MGMT expression, resulting in a synergistic effect on MGMT-positive GSCs. These results indicate that enhanced MGMT expression contributes to TMZ resistance in MGMT-positive GSCs.
背景与目的:mTOR(mammalian target of rapamycin)信号通路异常活化和高级别胶质瘤患者的预后不良相关。本研究探讨mTOR信号通路调控胶质瘤干细胞(GSCs)自我更新相关的分子机制。方法:采用CD133免疫磁珠分选CD133阳性胶质瘤干细胞。Western blot检测mTOR信号通路组分p-S6K、p-S6和干细胞自我更新相关基因Bmi-1的表达水平;Rapamycin(RPA)阻断mTOR信号通路后,用肿瘤球形成实验评价干预mTOR信号通路对胶质瘤干细胞自我更新的影响;统计学处理采用SPSS11.0统计分析软件分析。结果:CD133阳性胶质瘤干细胞表达较高水平的mTOR信号通路组分p-S6K、p-S6和干细胞自我更新相关分子Bmi-1。通过rapamycin阻断mTOR信号通路,可诱导胶质瘤干细胞谱系分化,同时显著降低肿瘤球形成能力(P<0.05),而自噬抑制剂3-MA处理不能逆转rapamycin的效应。结论:mTOR信号通路能够调控胶质瘤干细胞自我更新,阻断mTOR通路下调胶质瘤干细胞自我更新潜能。
Background Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of a small fraction of cells with features of primitive neural progenitor cells and tumor-initiating function in brain tumors. These cells might represent primary therapeutic target for complete eradication of the tumors. This study aimed to determine the resistant phenotype of glioblastoma stem cells （GSCs） to temozolomide （TMZ） and to explore the possible molecular mechanisms underlying TMZ resistance. Methods Freshly resected glioblastoma specimen was collected and magnetic isolation of GSCs was carried out using the Miltenyi Biotec CD133 Cell Isolation kit. The cytotoxic effect of TMZ on CD133^＋ and CD133^- glioblastoma cells was determined by using the 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide （MTT） assay. Autophagy-related proteins （Beclin-1, LC3 and Atg5） and cleaved caspase-3 （p17） were analyzed by Western blotting. Immunofluorescent staining was used to detect Atg5, glial fibrillary acidic protein （GFAP） and CD133 expression in glioblastoma cells. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 10.0 software. For all tests, the level of statistical significance was set at P 〈0.05. Results CD133^＋ glioblastoma ceils exhibited neurosphere-like growth in vitro and high expression of CD133 stem cell marker. The growth-inhibiting rate in CD133- glioblastoma cells treated with 5 or 50 pmol/L TMZ was significantly higher than that in CD133^＋ glioblastoma cells （（14.36±3.75）% vs （2.54±1.36）% or （25.95±5.25）% vs （2.72±1.84）%, respectively, P 〈0.05）. Atg5, LC3-11 and Beclin-1 levels were significantly lower in CD133^＋ glioblastoma cells than those in autologous CD133^- cells after TMZ treatment （P 〈0.05）. Caspase-3 was mildly activated only in CD133^- glioblastoma cells after exposure to TMZ （P 〈0.05）. Immunofluorescent staining revealed elevated expression of Atg5 in GFAP^＋ cells following TMZ treatment. Conclusions The GSCs display strong capability of tumor�
FU JunLIU Zhi-gangLIU Xiao-meiCHEN Fu-rongSHI Hong-liuPANG Jesse Chung-seanNG Ho-keungCHEN Zhong-ping
