Abstract 1009: Cytotoxic effect of ginsenosides C-K and PPD on glioblastoma cells through cell cycle arrest and down-regulation of cell adhesion proteins

Ginsenosides, pharmacologically active components of ginseng have been shown to have strong anticancer effects; however, their effect on glioblastoma has not been extensively evaluated. Here, we investigated the anticancer effect and the molecular mechanisms of ginsenosides on glioblastoma. Among 12 ginsenosides tested, compound-K (C-K) and protopanaxadiol (PPD), significantly reduced U251MG cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manner. This cytotoxic effect was accompanied by decreased expression of cell adhesion proteins including N-Cadherin and Integrin β1, which led to reduced phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase. Furthermore, we observed the reduction of Cyclin D1 and subsequent G1-phase cell cycle arrest. We further demonstrated that C-K and PPD inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal regulated kinase. Conversely, C-K and PPD stimulated phosphorylation of JNK and cleavage of PARP. These results collectively indicate that ginsenosides C-K and PPD may provide a new strategy to treat malignant glioblastoma that are quite resistant to conventional anti-cancer treatment. (This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea;grant number : HI14C0042) Citation Format: Eunsoo Kim, Cheryl Wanderi, Chulhee Choi, Kyungsun Choi. Cytotoxic effect of ginsenosides C-K and PPD on glioblastoma cells through cell cycle arrest and down-regulation of cell adhesion proteins. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1009. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1009