Celastrol can inhibit the growth of SHH medulloblastoma: In vitro and in vivo studies

Abstract

Abstract Celastrol is a naturally occurring compound with a range of pharmacological properties derived from the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii. To develop a new therapeutic strategy for medulloblastoma (MB), this study will investigate the inhibitory effect of celastrol on MB and its underlying signaling pathway. We evaluated the effects of celastrol on cell proliferation using the CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay. Scratch assays and transwell invasion assays were used to assess the effects of celastrol on metastasis. The flow cytometry method was used to detect apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in the cells. The potential signaling pathways were detected by transcriptomics and quantitative PCR. To study the anticancer effect of celastrol on MB in vivo using a mouse xenograft model. Cell proliferation and metastasis of the SHH subgroup MB cell line can be inhibited by celastrol, and the effect of the drug on apoptosis is associated with its proliferation inhibition effect. Animal experiments showed that celastrol inhibited the growth of MB in vivo. In addition, the pro-apoptotic effect of celastrol on ONS-76 cells may be caused by ROS. Our findings indicate that celastrol inhibits the progression of MB both in vitro and in vivo, and this effect is associated with the induction of ROS in cells by celastrol in vitro studies.