Background:
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a primary aggressive brain tumor with high morbidity and mortality. Temozolomide (TMZ) has been applied to the treatment of GBM for over a decade, but TMZ resistance is a major obstacle to preventing the recurrence of GBM after surgery. In this study, the effect of Saikosaponin D (SSD) on increasing TMZ sensitivity was investigated by activating the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stresspathway.
Methods:
Three GBM cell lines with different sensitivities were selected, including rat RG-2 cells, human U251 cells, and LN-428 cells. Cell viability was detected by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and the plate cloning assay method. Cell morphology was observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The apoptosis and autophagy of GBM cells were determined by Hoechst 33258 and MDC fluorescent staining. The expression and distribution of ER stress proteins (GRP78, CHOP, PERK and ATF6) were detected by Western blotting (WB) and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Meanwhile, the expression and distribution of apoptosis proteins (Caspase-12, Caspase-9, and Caspase-3) and autophagy proteins (Beclin-1 and LC3) were also examined by WB and ICC.
Results:
The CCK-8 proliferation experiment and HE staining results confirmed that TMZ could inhibit the proliferation of GBM cells with the increase of the treatment time and dose. The highest inhibition rate was observed in RG-2 cells, while LN-428 cells exhibited poor sensitivity. Besides, the combined treatment with SSD and TMZ (SSD+TMZ) significantly promoted the apoptosis of GBM cells, compared with single drug administration groups. In addition, the WB experiment results suggested that the expression of ER stress-related proteins (PERK, ATF6, GRP78, and CHOP) was up-regulated. Moreover, apoptotic bodies and damaged nuclei were observed under Hoechst 3328 staining in the SSD+TMZ treatment group. Furthermore, the WB results revealed that Caspase-3, Caspase-9, and Caspase-12 were cleaved, and the expression of these cleaved bodies was up-regulated after the SSD+TMZ treatment. Autophagosomes were observed under MDC staining, and the expression of autophagy proteins (LC3 and Beclin-1) was up-regulated. These results indicated that SSD enhanced TMZ sensitivity of GBM cells via ER stress-induced apoptosis and autophagy.