Tetrandrine Exerts a Radiosensitization Effect on Human Glioma through Inhibiting Proliferation by Attenuating ERK Phosphorylation.
Tetrandrine (Tet), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, has been reported to have a radiosensitization effect on tumors. However, its effects on human glioma and the specific molecular mechanisms of these effects remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Tet has a radiosensitization effect on human glioma cells. It has been hypothesized that Tet has a radiosensitization effect on glioma cells by affecting the glioma cell cycle and DNA repair mechanism and that ERK mediates these activities. Therefore, we conducted detailed analyses of the effects of Tet on the cell cycle by performing flow cytometric analysis and on DNA repair by detecting the expression of phosphorylated H2AX by immunofluorescence. We used western blot analysis to investigate the role of ERK in the effect of Tet on the cell cycle and DNA repair. The results revealed that Tet exerts its radiosensitization effect on glioma cells by inhibiting proliferation and decreasing the expression of phosphorylated ERK and its downstream proteins. In summary, our data indicate that ERK is involved in Tet-induced radiosensitization of glioma cells via inhibition of glioma cell proliferation or of the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase.
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Ji-Wei
JW
Ma
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Yong
Y
Zhang
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Ji-Cheng
JC
Ye
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Ru
R
Li
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Yu-Lin
YL
Wen
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Jian-Xian
JX
Huang
Division of Pathology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Xue-Yun
XY
Zhong
ERK; Glioma; Proliferation; Radiosensitization; Tetrandrine