Gambogic acid enhances sensitivity of glioma U251 cells to temozolomide by inhibiting GLUT-3/ AKT signaling pathway / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

ABSTRACT

@#[Abstract] Objective: To explore whether gambogic acid can enhance the sensitivity of glioma U251 cells to temozolomide and further explore its mechanism. Methods: U251 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into blank control group, gambogic acid treatment group, temozolomide alone treatment group and combined treatment group. The cells survival rates of cells in each group was detected by CCK-8 assay. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and changes in ROS level. Western blotting was used to detect the changes in protein expressions. Results: CCK-8 results showed that the cells survival rates of the four groups after treatment for 24 h were (98.65±3.68)%, (93.58±2.47)%, (66.81±2.39)% and (38.65±4.13)%, respectively. It can be seen that the combined treatment could significantly increase the inhibitory effect of temozolomide on U251 cells. The proportion of apoptotic U251 cells in the combined treatment group was (61.43±2.58)%, which was significantly higher than that of (26.68±1.82)% in the temozolomide-treated group. Combined treatment of gambogic acid and temozolomide could up-regulate ROS level in U251 cells, reduce the expressions of GLUT-3 and p-AKT, and inhibit the GLUT-3/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: Gambogic acid combined with temozolomide can enhance the sensitivity of U251 cells to temozolomide by up-regulating ROS level and inhibiting GLUT-3/AKT signaling pathway in U251 cells, and provides a theoretical basis for the application of gambogic acid in the treatment of glioma.