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Curcumin promotes differentiation of glioma‐initiating cells by inducing autophagy

2011; Wiley; Volume: 103; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1349-7006.2011.02198.x

1349-7006

Wenzhuo Zhuang, Linmei Long, Bingxin Zheng, Wenjun Ji, Neng Yang, Qingqing Zhang, Zhong‐Qin Liang,

MicroRNA in disease regulation

Glioblastoma ( GBM ) is a highly aggressive brain tumor characterized by increased proliferation and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, a growing body of evidence suggests that glioma‐initiating cells ( GIC s) are responsible for the initiation and recurrence of GBM . However, the factors determining the differential development of GIC s remain poorly defined. In the present study, we show that curcumin, a natural compound with low toxicity in normal cells, significantly induced differentiation of GIC s in vivo and in vitro by inducing autophagy. Moreover, curcumin also suppressed tumor formation on intracranial GIC s implantation into mice. Our results suggest that autophagy plays an essential role in the regulation of GIC self‐renewal, differentiation, and tumorigenic potential, suggesting autophagy could be a promising therapeutic target in a subset of glioblastomas. This is the first evidence that curcumin has differentiating and tumor‐suppressing actions on GIC s. ( Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 684–690)