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R-flurbiprofen, a novel nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, decreases cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in pituitary adenoma cells in vitro

  • Laboratory Investigation - Human/Animal Tissue
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Abstract

R-flurbiprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug derivative, has been shown to inhibit colonic adenoma formation in mice. We investigated the effects of R-flurbiprofen on cell proliferation and apoptosis in pituitary adenoma cell lines. GH4C1 rat pituitary cell line cultures and low-passage human primary pituitary cell cultures were treated with varying concentrations of R-flurbiprofen (0.1–1.0 mM). R-flurbiprofen inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent fashion. A terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay and chromatin condensation/dead cell apoptosis assay demonstrated induction of apoptosis at higher concentrations of R-flurbiprofen. R-flurbiprofen decreases cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in pituitary adenoma cells in vitro. This may be a potential therapy in the management of pituitary adenoma.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kristin Kraus, M.Sc., for editorial assistance in preparing this article and Bradley Weaver for assistance with image analysis.

Conflict of interest

The authors do not report any conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings specified in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    James K. Liu, David L. Gillespie, Kum Whang & William T. Couldwell

  2. Department of Neurological Surgery, Neurological Institute of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 90 Bergen Street, Suite 8100, Newark, NJ, 07101, USA

    James K. Liu & Smruti K. Patel

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Gangwon, Korea

    Kum Whang

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  1. James K. Liu
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  2. Smruti K. Patel
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Correspondence to James K. Liu.

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Liu, J.K., Patel, S.K., Gillespie, D.L. et al. R-flurbiprofen, a novel nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, decreases cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in pituitary adenoma cells in vitro. J Neurooncol 106, 561–569 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-011-0712-4

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