Pharmacological effects of asiatic acid in glioblastoma cells under hypoxia

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Despite current treatment options including surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy with temozolomide and cisplatin, the median survival rate remains low (<16 months). Combined with increasing drug resistance and the inability of some compounds to cross the blood–brain barrier, novel compounds are being sought for the treatment of this disease. Here, we aimed to examine the pharmacological effect of Asiatic acid (AA) in glioblastoma under hypoxia. To investigate the effects of AA on cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and wound healing, SVG p12 fetal glia and U87-MG grade IV glioblastoma cells were cultured under normoxic (21% O2) and hypoxic (1% O2) conditions. In normoxia, AA reduced cell viability in U87-MG cells in a time and concentration-dependent manner. A significant decrease in viability, compared to cisplatin, was observed following 2 h of AA treatment with no significant changes in cell proliferation or cell cycle progression observed. Under hypoxia, a significantly greater number of cells underwent apoptosis in comparison to cisplatin. While cisplatin showed a reduction in wound healing in normoxia, a significantly greater reduction was observed following AA treatment. An overall reduction in wound healing was observed under hypoxia. The results of this study show that AA has cytotoxic effects on glioma cell lines and has the potential to become an alternative treatment for glioblastoma.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11010-017-2965-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Liposomal Taro Lectin Nanocapsules Control Human Glioblastoma and Mammary Adenocarcinoma Cell Proliferation

“…These cancer cells lines presented sensitivity to encapsulated tarin comparable to usual chemotherapeutic drug effects. Concerning glioblastoma, the determined IC 50 for encapsulated tarin (39.36 μg/mL) was equivalent to 65% of cisplatin (29 μg/mL) and 82.2% of temozolide (33.40 μg/mL) inhibition growth effects (Table 2) [37,38]. On the other hand, breast adenocarcinoma cells displayed a less favorable panorama when compared to literature results.…”

Asiatic Acid, Extracted from Centella asiatica and Induces Apoptosis Pathway through the Phosphorylation p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Cisplatin-Resistant Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

“…It has been proposed that Asiatic acid has various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, as well as the potent anti-hypertensive, neuro and cardio-protective, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities [5]. Many studies had proved the anti-cancer effects in vitro or in vivo of AA in breast cancer, ovary cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, glioblastoma, lung cancer, lymphoma, and melanoma [6,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Our study corresponds with these researches and revealed the anti-cancer effect of AA in both dose and time dependent manners in cisplatin-resistance NPC cell lines (Figure 1b).…”

Asiatic Acid Interferes with Invasion and Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells by Inhibiting WAVE3 Activation through PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

“…It has been suggested in current studies that asiatic acid may become one of the important multitarget drugs from natural sources, which can be used for further drug development and clinical application [21]. In the past few years, asiatic acid has been proved to be a potential anticancer compound, and it has been demonstrated in multiple studies [22][23][24][25] that asiatic acid has an inhibitory effect on cancer of the liver, brain, ovary, and lungs. Specifically, asiatic acid has outstanding advantages in reducing inflammation, caring for the skin, and protecting the liver and nerves.…”