Effects of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and tacalcitol on cell signaling and anchorage-independent growth in T98G and U251 glioblastoma cells

The active hormonal form of vitamin D, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), is reported to have 1000s of biological targets. The growth-suppressive properties of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and its synthetic analogs have attracted interest for the development of treatment and/or prevention of cancer. We examined effects of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and the vitamin D analog tacalcitol on signaling pathways and anchorage-independent growth in T98G and U251 glioblastoma cells. Assay of signaling proteins important for cellular growth indicated suppression of p70-S6 kinase levels by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and tacalcitol in T98G cells, whereas the levels of PLCγ, a target for phospholipid signaling, was slightly increased. Activation of STAT3, an important regulator of malignancy, was suppressed by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and tacalcitol in T98G and U251 cells. However, despite the close structural similarity of these compounds, suppression was stronger by tacalcitol (1α,24-dihydroxyvitamin D(3)), indicating that even minor modifications of a vitamin D analog can impact its effects on signaling. Experiments using soft agar colony formation assay in T98G and U251 cells revealed significant suppression by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and tacalcitol on anchorage-independent growth, a property for cancer invasion and metastasis known to correlate with tumorigenicity. These findings indicate that vitamin D and its analogs may be able to counteract the oncogenic transformation, invasion and metastatic potential of glioblastoma and prompt further study of these compounds in the development of improved therapy for brain cancer.