Glioblastoma is a malignant tumor of the central nervous system (brain or spinal cord) and one of the deadliest types of cancer. Few drugs have proved effective at combating this uncontrolled growth of glial cells, which anyway constitute a large proportion of the brain tissue in mammals.
Assessment of cell viability in GBM cells. (A) Viability level of T98G cells after treatment for 48 h with 100 µM of selected substances tested in this study, as well as 12.5 µM of lomustine, used as a positive control for GBM cytotoxicity. Data were normalized against DMSO. IC 50 values were determined after treatment for 48 h with increasing concentrations of A5 (B), C1 (C) or APO (D). Cell viability was determined using the PrestoBlue reagent. These assays were conducted in triplicate (with at least two biological replicates); error bars represent mean ± SD. Asterisks denote significance as determined by one-way ANOVA multiple comparisons followed by Dunnet test (post-test); ***p < 0.0001. Credit: Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25534-2
The standard treatment is surgical removal of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide, radiation therapy, and then nitrosoureas (such as lomustine). Patient survival has improved moderately over the years, but the prognosis remains poor. These tumors are typically resistant to existing drugs and often grow back after surgery.
Promising results have now been reported in a study involving two substances found to inhibit proliferation of glioblastoma cells. An article on the study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The researchers conducted in vitro tests to evaluate the biological effects of 12 compounds obtained through total synthesis of apomorphine hydrochloride against glioblastoma cells. They found that two of these compounds—an isoquinoline derivative called A5 and an aporphine…
Ricardo Muniz
phys.org