β-elemene inhibits proliferation of human glioblastoma cells through the activation of glia maturation factor β and induces sensitization to cisplatin

Abstract

Abstract. β-elemene, a natural drug extracted from Curcuma wenyujin, strongly inhibits glioblastoma growth. However, the mechanism of β-elemene antitumor action remains unclear. glia maturation factor β (gMFβ) regulates cellular growth, fission, differentiation and apoptosis. It has been reported that overexpression of GMFβ inhibits the growth of glioblastoma cells and decreases tumor volume. to illustrate the role of gMFβ in the anti-proliferative effect of β-elemene in glioblastoma, U87 cells were treated with β-elemene at various doses and for different periods of time, and levels of phospho-gMFβ (p-gMFβ) and total gMFβ were determined by immunoprecipitation and western blot analysis. Upon gMFβ silencing using rnA interference, the antitumor action of β-elemene was evaluated in a methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay and by semi-quantitative western blot analysis of MKK3/6 and p-MKK3/6 expression. Finally, chemosensitization to cisplatin by β-elemene was examined using a cell counting array, and the cell growth inhibitory rate was calculated. the results showed that β-elemene inhibits U87 cell viability through the activation of the gMFβ signaling pathway. conversely, silencing the expression of gMFβ reversed the antitumor effect of β-elemene and impaired the phosphorylation of MKK3/6. Furthermore, β-elemene increased the sensitivity of U87 glioblastoma cells to the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. taken together, these results suggest that activation of the gMFβ pathway mediates the antitumor effect of β-elemene in glioblastoma. gMFβ is a putative molecular target for glioblastoma therapy.

Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Activities of the Essential Oil of Aloysia citriodora Palau Grown in Morocco

“…Moreover, it has also been demonstrated that β -caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide were also reported to induce apoptosis in tumor cells and exert analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and sedative activities [21, 22]. Furthermore, β -elemene and spathulenol were reported as having anticancer activities on human glioblastoma and on MCF7 cancer cell lines [23–25]. Interestingly, no cytotoxic effect of A. citriodora essential oil studied here was observed on Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).…”

β-Elemene: Mechanistic Studies on Cancer Cell Interaction and Its Chemosensitization Effect

“…In C6 and U251 glioblastoma cells, elemene treatment resulted in p38 MAPK phosphorylation and cell-cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase (Yao et al, 2008a,b). Activation of Glia maturation factor β mediates the antitumor effect of elemene in glioblastoma cell line U87 and this can increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to cisplatin (Zhu et al, 2011a). Therefore, the antiglioblastoma effect of elemene is mediated through the cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, leading to MAPK phosphorylation.…”

β-Elemene treatment of glioblastoma: a single-center retrospective study

“…In the People’s Republic of China, ELE has been used to treat glioma clinically 9,18. Recent in vitro investigations have also shown that when treating GMB, ELE was not only an antitumor agent but also a chemo- and radiosensitizer 11–14. In this clinical study, we focused on the use of ELE in GBM patients.…”

“…Because of its small molecular weight and lipid solubility, ELE can penetrate the blood–brain barrier4 and has been used to treat glioma 9. Recently, several in vitro studies showed that ELE treatment inhibited GBM cell proliferation,10,11 promoted differentiation,12 induced apoptosis,13 and chemo- and radiosensitized GBM cells 11,12,14. All these findings indicated the potential survival benefit of ELE in treating GBM.…”