title: Icariin induces S-phase arrest and apoptosis in medulloblastoma cells.
abstract: Medulloblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumor in children. Despite a relatively high long-term survival rate, complications still represent great burden for the majority of patients receiving traditional therapy. Therefore, the development of new effective treatments and drugs is urgently needed. A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assay were used to evaluate medulloblastoma cell proliferation and colony formation, respectively. Cell cycles and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. A western blot was performed to determine the levels of protein expression. Axenograft model of medulloblastoma was established to evaluate the in vivo anticancer effects of icariin. The CCK-8 assay showed that icariin decreased cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The colony formation assay indicated that icariin potently inhibited the colony formation ability of Daoy and D341 cells. Icariin-induced proliferation inhibition may be due to S-phase arrest in medulloblastoma cells. In addition, icariin induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, as shown by the results of annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double staining and Hoechst 33342 staining. Icariin progressively inhibited tumor growth and induced apoptosis in a mouse model. Moreover, cell cycle regulators Cyclin A, CDK2, and Cyclin B1, and apoptosis-related proteins caspase-3, caspase-9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bcl-2 were modulated in response to treatment with icariin in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggest that icariin may exert anticancer effects. Thus, it is a promising drug for medulloblastoma treatment.
authors.affiliation: Shandong University Department of Pediatric Surgery, Qilu Hospital Jinan China shsunyong@163.com.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Qingdao Infectious Disease Hospital Department of Hepatopathy Qingdao China.
authors.forename: X-H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Qingdao Women and Children&apos; Hospital Department of Pediatric Surgery Qingdao China.
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Qingdao Women and Children&apos; Hospital Department of Pediatric Surgery Qingdao China.
authors.forename: X-M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Shandong University Department of Pediatric Surgery, Qilu Hospital Jinan China liaiwuxie&commat;126.com.
authors.forename: A-W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D059807:S Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; C056599:icariin