洛伐他汀对胶质瘤干细胞增殖和凋亡的影响

Effect of lovastatin on proliferation and apoptosis of glioma stem cells

BACKGROUND:Increasing evidence has shown that lovastatin with less toxicity to normal cells has crucial effects on proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of various cancer cells. However, its roles in glioma stem cells remain unclear. OBJECTIVE:To explore the effect of lovastatin on proliferation and apoptosis of glioma stem cells. METHODS:Flow cytometric sorting was used to separate glioma stem cells from human glioblastoma cell line U87. Effects of lovastatin on the proliferation and apoptosis of glioma stem cells were determined by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, expression levels of Ki67, Bax and Bcl-2 in glioma stem cells treated with lovastatin were detected using western blot analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The CD133-positive glioma stem cells were sorted from human glioblastoma cell line U87 with a positive percentage of 85%. MTT assay showed that lovastatin inhibited the proliferation of glioma stem cells in dose (5, 10, 20 μmol/L)- and time (24, 48, 72, 96 hours)-dependent manners. Flow cytometry analysis showed that 10 μmol/L lovastatin (48 hours) induced apoptosis in glioma stem cells. In addition, the expression level of Ki67 was decreased by lovastatin treatment in a dose-dependent manner, and the Bcl-2 and Bax expression levels were reduced and increased by 10 μmol/L lovastatin treatment, respectively. In conclusion, lovastatin can inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of glioma stem cells, and lovastatin may be a potential drug for treatment of brain tumors.