TB-06 Eribulin prolongs survival in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model of malignant meningioma

Meningioma is the most common intracranial tumor, and its prognosis is typically favorable. However, patients of malignant meningioma (WHO grade III) most often experience recurrence, undergo multiple surgical treatments, and have poor prognosis. No effective therapy for malignant meningioma has been established yet. We recently reported an efficacy of eribulin (Haraven®) for glioblastoma. Eribulin is considered to target TERT, which is frequently mutated in its promoter. Since TERT promoter mutation is also found in malignant meningioma, this study aims at investigating the anti-tumor effect of eribulin against TERT promoter mutation-harboring human malignant meningioma cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Two meningioma cell lines IOMM-Lee and HKBMM were used in this study. In the viability assay and the flow cytometry, eribulin strongly inhibited cell proliferation by cell cycle arrest. Apoptotic cell death in malignant meningioma cell lines was confirmed by vital dye assay and immunoblotting. Moreover, wound healing assay revealed the suppression of tumor cell migration after eribulin exposure. To assess the effect of eribulin in vivo, orthotopic xenograft mouse models of both malignant meningioma cell lines were constructed. The intraperitoneal administration of eribulin significantly prolonged the survival of meningioma cell lines implanted in the brain (p<0.0001). Furthermore, apoptosis was histologically observed in brain tumor tissue by immunohistochemistry. Thus, this study suggests that eribulin is a potential therapeutic agent for treating malignant meningioma.