Tetrandrine inhibits glioma stem-like cells by repressing β-catenin expression.

Tetrandrine inhibits glioma stem-like cells by repressing β-catenin expression. Int J Oncol. 2016 Nov 23;: Authors: Zhang Y, Wen YL, Ma JW, Ye JC, Wang X, Huang JX, Meng CY, Xu XZ, Wang SX, Zhong XY Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSCs) in glioma are often responsible for relapse and resistance to therapy. The purpose of the present study was to confirm the self-renewal and migration inhibitory effects of tetrandrine (Tet), which is a compound extracted from the dried root of Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, toward glioma stem-like cells (GSLCs) and to examine the associated molecular mechanisms. Using a neurosphere culture technique, we enriched the GSLC population from the human glioblastoma cell lines U87 and U251. Cells were analyzed using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), western blotting, flow cytometry, transwell assay and immunofluorescence staining. GSLCs displayed properties of neural stem cells, including elevated expression of the cancer stem cell marker ALDH1 and β-catenin. We found that Tet treatment decreased sphere formation in GSLCs in a dose-dependent manner using tumor spheroid formation assay. The GSK3β inhibitor BIO maintained sphere formation and migration capacity in GSLCs, whereas the β-catenin/TCF transcription inhibitor ICG-001 decreased sphere formation and the migration capacity of GSLCs. The proportion of apoptotic GSLCs also increased in response to ICG-001 treatment. These results indicate that β-catenin activ...
Source: International Journal of Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Int J Oncol Source Type: research