title: Apoptosis in glioma-bearing rats after neural stem cell transplantation.
abstract: Abnormal activation of the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk signaling cascade plays an important role in glioma. Inhibition of this aberrant activity could effectively hinder glioma cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis. To investigate the mechanism of glioblastoma treatment by neural stem cell transplantation with respect to the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk pathway, C6 glioma cells were prepared in suspension and then infused into the rat brain to establish a glioblastoma model. Neural stem cells isolated from fetal rats were then injected into the brain of this glioblastoma model. Results showed that Raf-1, Erk and Bcl-2 protein expression significantly increased, while Caspase-3 protein expression decreased. After transplantation of neural stem cells, Raf-1, Erk and Bcl-2 protein expression significantly decreased, while Caspase-3 protein expression significantly increased. Our findings indicate that transplantation of neural stem cells may promote apoptosis of glioma cells by inhibiting Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk signaling, and thus may represent a novel treatment approach for glioblastoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the 476 Hospital of Chinese PLA, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the 476 Hospital of Chinese PLA, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhenjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Shaopeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: Bcl-2; C6 glioma cells; Caspase-3; Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk signaling pathway; apoptosis; brain tumor; glioblastoma; neural regeneration; neural stem cells; neuroregeneration; stem cells