Low Dose Astaxanthin Treatments Trigger the Hormesis of Human Astroglioma Cells by Up-Regulating the Cyclin-Dependent Kinase and Down-Regulated the Tumor Suppressor Protein P53

Astaxanthin (AXT) is a xanthophyll carotenoid known to have potent anti-cancer effects via upregulation of the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which triggers apoptosis of cancer cells. While several studies have shown that AXT has potential as an anti-cancer drug, its effects in glioblastoma multiforme cells remain relatively unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of AXT in the astroglioma cell lines U251-MG, T98G, and CRT-MG. We found that the response to AXT varied between cell lines. Moreover, U251-MG cells showed a specific hormetic response to AXT. At high concentrations (20–40 μM), AXT triggered apoptosis in U251-MG cells, as it has been previously shown in other cancer cell lines. However, low concentrations (4–8 μM) of AXT were found to upregulate the proliferative cell cycle. Furthermore, at low concentrations, AXT did not affect the intracellular ROS levels, while the superoxide dismutase activity increased moderately. Western blot analysis showed that treatment with a low concentration of AXT upregulated cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 2 and p-Cdk2/3 levels and downregulated the expression of tumor protein p53. Thus, our results showed that AXT has a hormetic effect in the astroglioma cell line U251-MG.