title: Abscisic-acid-induced cellular apoptosis and differentiation in glioma via the retinoid acid signaling pathway.
abstract: Retinoid acid (RA) plays critical roles in regulating differentiation and apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. Abscisic acid (ABA) and RA are direct derivatives of carotenoids and share structural similarities. Here we proposed that ABA may also play a role in cellular differentiation and apoptosis by sharing a similar signaling pathway with RA that may be involved in glioma pathogenesis. We reported for the first time that the ABA levels were twofold higher in low-grade gliomas compared with high-grade gliomas. In glioma tissues, there was a positive correlation between the ABA levels and the transcription of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2) and a negative correlation between the ABA levels and transcription of fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5). ABA treatment induced a significant increase in the expression of CRABP2 and a decrease in the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) in glioblastoma cells. Remarkably, both cellular apoptosis and differentiation were increased in the glioblastoma cells after ABA treatment. ABA-induced cellular apoptosis and differentiation were significantly reduced by selectively silencing RAR-α, while RAR-α overexpression exaggerated the ABA-induced effects. These results suggest that ABA may play a role in the pathogenesis of glioma by promoting cellular apoptosis and differentiation through the RA signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Hongxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Middle Urumqi Road 12, Shanghai, 200040, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014162:Transfection; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D014212:Tretinoin; D000040:Abscisic Acid
keywords: abscisic acid; apoptosis; differentiation; glioma; pathological grade; retinoid acid signaling pathway