Cycloartenol exerts anti-proliferative effects on Glioma U87 cells via induction of cell cycle arrest and p38 MAPK-mediated apoptosis.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Gliomas are destructive malignancies affecting mainly the central nervous system. Gliomas constitute around 50% of all the central nervous system tumors. The purpose of this study was to examine the anticancer activity of cycloartenol against the glioma U87 cells and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: MTT and colony formation assay were used to determine the proliferation rate. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) were used to determine apoptosis and cell cycle analysis was carried out by western blotting. Cell migration was checked by cell migration assay and immunoblotting was used for checking protein expressions. RESULTS: The results revealed that cycloartenol inhibited the proliferation and the colony formation potential of the glioma U87 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The antiproliferative effects were found to be due to induction of Sub-G1 cell cycle arrest and triggering of apoptosis. These effects were found to be dose-dependent. Cycloartenol also caused significant alteration in the expression of Bax and Bcl-2. Furthermore, cycloartenol inhibited the migration of glioma cells and suppressed the phosphorylation of the p38 MAP kinase. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that cycloartenol may prove beneficial in the treatment of glioma and warrants further investigation.