Induction of differentiation and tetraploidy by long-term treatment of C6 rat glioma cells with erucylphosphocholine.

ABSTRACT

Induction of differentiation represents a promising concept for chemotherapy of malignant gliomas, which are often refractory even to the combined treatment with surgery, irradiation and chemotherapy. Since anti-neoplastic alkylphosphocholines can induce differentiation of leukemic cell lines, the effects of the intravenously applicable alkylphosphocholine-derivative erucylphosphocholine (ErPC) on proliferation, morphology and differentiation of the rat glioma cell line C6 was examined in vitro. Short-term exposure to ErPC induced accumulation of the cells in the G2/M-phase of the cell cycle and apoptotic cell death. In contrast, continuous exposure of C6 rat glioma cells to sublethal ErPC doses (30 and 50 microM) caused both the formation of a slower growing tetraploid cell population and astrocytic differentiation. No resistance to in vivo obtainable ErPC concentrations was observed during this treatment. We conclude that ErPC-induced differentiation might be beneficial for a long-term adjuvant chemotherapy of low grade glioma.