The histone deacetylase inhibitor, 2-propylpentanoic acid, increases the chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity of human glioma cell lines in vitro

Background Treatment for malignant glioma generally consists of cytoreductive surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study, we intend to investigate the effects of 2-propylpentanoic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity in human glioma cell lines. Methods Human glioma cell lines, T98-G, and SF295, were treated with temozolomide (TMZ) or irradiation (IR), with or without VPA (1.0 mmol/L). Then, cytotoxicity and clonogenic survival assay was performed. Cell cycle stage, apoptosis, and autophagy were also detected using flow cytometry and dansyl monocadaverin (MDC) incorporation assay. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test were used to analyze the differences among variant groups. Results Mild cytotoxicity of VPA was revealed in both cell lines, T98-G and SF295, with the 50% inhibiting concentration (IC50) value of (3.85?0.58) mmol/L and (2.15?0.38) mmol/L, respectively; while the IC50 value of TMZ was (0.20?0.09) mmol/L for T98-G and (0.08?0.02) mmol/L for SF295. Moreover, if combined with VPA (1.0 mmol/L) for 96 hours, the sensitivity of glioma cells to TMZ was significant increased (P <0.05). The surviving fractions at 2 Gy (SF2) of T98-G and SF295 cells exposed to IR alone were 0.52 and 0.58. However, when VPA was combined with IR, the SF2 of T98-G and SF295 dropped to 0.39 (P=0.047) and 0.49 (P=0.049), respectively. Treatment with VPA plus TMZ or IR also resulted in a significant decrease in the proportion of cells in the G2 phase and increased apoptotic rates as well as autophagy in T98-G and SF295 cell lines (P <0.01). Conclusion VPA may enhance the activities of TMZ and IR on glioma cells possibly through cell cycle block and promote autophagy, and thus could be a potential sensitizer of glioma treatment.