Chalcone 9X Contributed to Repressing Glioma Cell Growth and Migration and Inducing Cell Apoptosis by Reducing FOXM1 Expression In Vitro and Repressing Tumor Growth In Vivo

OBJECTIVE: Natural and synthetic chalcones played roles in inflammation and cancers. Chalcone 9X was an aromatic ketone that was found to inhibit cell growth of hepatic cancer and lung cancer cells. In this study, we wanted to investigate the functions of Chalcone 9X in glioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chemical Chalcone 9X was added in human glioma cell lines (U87 and T98G cells) and normal astrocyte cell lines (HA1800) with various concentrations (0 μmol/L, 20 μmol/L, 50 μmol/L, and 100 μmol/L). CCK-8 assay was used to measure cell viability. Flow cytometric assay was used to measure cell apoptotic rates. Wound healing assay and transwell assay were used to measure cell invasion. RT-PCR was used to detect relative mRNA expressions, and the protein expressions were detected by western blot (WB) and immunohistochemical staining (IHC). Finally, nude mouse xenograft assay was performed to prove the effects of Chalcone 9X in vivo. RESULTS: Results revealed that Chalcone 9X treatment suppressed cell viability and cell migration capacity; it could also induce cell apoptosis in U87 and T98G cells with dose dependence. However, it had little cytotoxicity to normal astrocyte HA1800 cells. Moreover, Chalcone 9X treatment could repress the mRNA and protein expressions of FOXM1 in human glioma cell lines, which was an oncogene that could promote the progression and malignancy of glioma. In addition, FOXM1 overexpression dismissed the Chalcone 9X effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration in human glioma cell lines. Finally, in vivo assay showed that Chalcone 9X treatment repressed the expression of FOXM1, which inhibited the tumor growth of a xenograft model injected with U87 in nude mice. CONCLUSIONS: In all, we found that Chalcone 9X could suppress cell proliferation and migration and induce cell apoptosis in human glioma cells, while it has little cytotoxicity to normal astrocyte cells. Therefore, we uncovered a novel way that Chalcone 9X could inhibit FOXM1 expression and repress the progression and biofunctions of glioma cells, which might be a potential therapeutic drug for treating human glioma.