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Synergistic Anti-Cancer Effects of Icariin and Temozolomide in Glioblastoma

Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics volume 71, pages 1379–1385 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Glioblastoma is an aggressive malignancy, which is associated with poor prognosis. Temozolomide (TMZ) has been showed to be an effective chemotherapeutic agent for glioblastoma treatment; however, the response rate is not satisfactory. Icariin is a natural compound with anti-cancer activity against a variety of cancers. This study is designed to determine whether icariin could potentiate the antitumor activity of TMZ in glioblastoma. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured using MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Expression of apoptosis and proliferation-related molecules was detected by Western blotting while NF-κB activity was detected by ELISA. Icariin dose-dependently inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in tested glioblastoma cell lines. Icariin enhanced the anti-tumor activity of TMZ in vitro. The anti-tumor activity of icariin and the enhanced anti-tumor activity of TMZ by icariin correlated with suppression of NF-κB activity. Our results showed that icariin exhibited anti-tumor activity and potentiated the anti-tumor activity of TMZ in glioblastoma, at least in part, by inhibiting NF-κB activity. Although more studies including clinical trials are needed, this study provides insight for using icariin as a chemosensitizing agent in clinic settings.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, No.324, JingWu Road, Ji’nan, 250021, China

    Lijuan Yang & Hua Guo

  2. CT Department, First People’s Hospital of Jining, Shandong, 272011, China

    Yuexun Wang & Meiling Guo

Authors
  1. Lijuan Yang
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  2. Yuexun Wang
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  3. Hua Guo
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  4. Meiling Guo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meiling Guo.

Additional information

Dr. Lijuan Yang and Dr. Yuexun Wang have contributed equally to this study.

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Yang, L., Wang, Y., Guo, H. et al. Synergistic Anti-Cancer Effects of Icariin and Temozolomide in Glioblastoma. Cell Biochem Biophys 71, 1379–1385 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-014-0360-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-014-0360-3

Keywords

  • GBM
  • TMZ
  • Icariin
  • AMPK