Corilagin Induces High Levels of Apoptosis in the Temozolomide-Resistant T98G Glioma Cell Line

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a malignant tumor of the central nervous system, has a high mortality rate. No curative treatment is presently available, and the most commonly used chemotherapeutic drug, the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ), is only able to increase life expectancy and is often associated with drug resistance. Therefore, an urgent need does exist for novel drugs aimed at treating gliomas. In the present study, we obtained three major results using corilagin: (a) demonstrated that it inhibits the growth of U251 glioma cells through activation of the apoptotic pathway; (b) demonstrated that it is also active on TMZ-resistant T98G glioma cells; and (c) demonstrated that when used in combination with TMZ on T98G glioma cells, a higher level of proapototic and antiproliferative effects is observed. Our study indicates that corilagin should be investigated in more detail to determine whether it can be developed as a potential therapeutic agent. In addition, our results suggest that corilagin could be used in combination with low doses of other standard anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs against gliomas (such as TMZ) with the aim of obtaining enhanced anticancer effects.