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The influence of simulated microgravity on proliferation and apoptosis in U251 glioma cells

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Abstract

Several studies have indicated that microgravity can influence cellular progression, proliferation, and apoptosis in tumor cell lines. In this study, we observed that simulated microgravity inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in U251 malignant glioma (U251MG) cells. Furthermore, expression of the apoptosis-associated proteins, p21 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2), was upregulated and downregulated, respectively, following exposure to simulated microgravity. These findings indicate that simulated microgravity inhibits proliferation while inducing apoptosis of U251MG cells. The associated effects appear to be mediated by inhibition of IGFBP-2 expression and stimulation of p21 expression. This suggests that simulated microgravity might represent a promising method to discover new targets for glioma therapeutic strategy.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81273879). We thank Dr. Wen-dong Bai, Dr. Chu-chao Zhu, Dr. Yuan Xing, and Dr. Lu Wang for their expert technical assistance.

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  1. Jiao Zhao and He Ma contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Jiao Zhao, Leitao Wu, Liang Cao, Haijun Dong, Zongren Wang & Jing Ma

  2. Department of Histology and Embryology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    He Ma, Qianqian Yang & Zhen Li

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  1. Jiao Zhao
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Correspondence to Jing Ma or Zhen Li.

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Editor: Tetsuji Okamoto

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Zhao, J., Ma, H., Wu, L. et al. The influence of simulated microgravity on proliferation and apoptosis in U251 glioma cells. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 53, 744–751 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-017-0178-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-017-0178-6

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