[PDF][PDF] Azathioprine antagonizes aberrantly elevated lipid metabolism and induces apoptosis in glioblastoma

HJ Nam, YE Kim, BS Moon, HY Kim, D Jung, S Choi… - Iscience, 2021 - cell.com
HJ Nam, YE Kim, BS Moon, HY Kim, D Jung, S Choi, JW Jang, DH Nam, H Cho
Iscience, 2021cell.com
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of brain tumor with poor survival
rate. Temozolomide (TMZ) is used as standard chemotherapy to treat GBM, but a large
number of patients either respond poorly and/or develop resistance after long-term use,
emphasizing the need to develop potent drugs with novel mechanisms of action. Here, using
high-throughput compound screening (HTS), we found that azathioprine, an
immunosuppressant, is a promising therapeutic agent to treat TMZ-resistant GBM. Through …
Summary
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of brain tumor with poor survival rate. Temozolomide (TMZ) is used as standard chemotherapy to treat GBM, but a large number of patients either respond poorly and/or develop resistance after long-term use, emphasizing the need to develop potent drugs with novel mechanisms of action. Here, using high-throughput compound screening (HTS), we found that azathioprine, an immunosuppressant, is a promising therapeutic agent to treat TMZ-resistant GBM. Through integrative genome-wide analysis and global proteomic analysis, we found that elevated lipid metabolism likely due to hyperactive EGFR/AKT/SREBP-1 signaling was inhibited by azathioprine. Azathioprine also promoted ER stress-induced apoptosis. Analysis of orthotopic xenograft models injected with patient-derived GBM cells revealed reduced tumor volume and increased apoptosis after azathioprine and TMZ co-treatment. These data indicate that azathioprine could be a powerful therapeutic option for TMZ-resistant GBM patients.
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