Abstract 5113: Usnic acid, lichen secondary metabolite, inhibits glioblastoma progression through the reduction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and glioma stemness factors

Abstract

Abstract Background: Usnic acid (UA), an active compound mainly found in lichens, has shown some anti-tumoral activities for lung and breast cancers. The therapeutic role of UA in glioblastoma (GM) have not yet been determined, nor has the definitive relationships of UA with EMT and cancer stem cells. Methods: We tested the anti-tumoral activities of UA against glioblastoma (GM) progression and further investigated the mechanistic link with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness factors. The targeting and anti-tumor effect of UA was also checked in orthotopic mouse glioma model. Results: In vitro assay, we found that UA increased apoptotic cell death and inhibited the invasion/migration of GM cells. Sphere and colony forming abilities were also decreased in treated GM cells. UA decreased the expression of the EMT markers (N-cadherin, ZEB1, ZEB2, SNAIL and SLUG) and the cancer stemness markers (CD133, ALDH1 and CD44). In orthotopic mouse glioma models, UA localized in GBM and significantly decreased tumor growth and progression to lead longer survival. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings showed that UA prevent GBM invasiveness and progression, through the down-regulation of EMT and cancer stemness markers. Citation Format: Kyung-Hwa Lee, Se-Jeong Oh, Shin Jung, Kyung-Keun Kim, Jae-Hyuk Lee, Kyung-Sub Moon. Usnic acid, lichen secondary metabolite, inhibits glioblastoma progression through the reduction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and glioma stemness factors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5113. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5113