Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in Glioma Stem Cells

Abstract

Glioma stem cells (GSCs), which are originated from transformed neural stem cells, are tumor-initiating cells of glioma, the most common primary malignant neoplasm of the central nervous system. Extensive studies have shown that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) plays an important role in the differentiation and proliferation of neural stem cells. To seek the functions and mechanisms of BMP4 in GSCs, GSCs isolated from U87 human glioma cells by using vincristine were exposed to BMP4 protein. This study shows that BMP4 inhibited U87 GSC proliferation (p < 0.01) via downregulation of cyclin D1 level and promoted GSC apoptosis through induction of Bax expression and inhibition of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL levels. Thus, these results indicate a new approach of GSC-based glioma treatment.