Objective: To investigate the effect of iron ion (Fe 3+ ) in human glioma microenvironment on gossypol acetate (GAA) killing glioma cells. Methods: Human glioma cells LN229, SW1783, U87MG and U251MG were treated with different concentrations of GAA (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 μmol/L). CCK-8 assay was used to detect the cell viability and calculate the half inhibitory concentration (IC50). The 4 types of glioma cells were divided into 4 treatment groups: control group, Fe3+ group, GAA group, Fe3++GAA group, treated with medium, FeCl3·6H2O, GAA, FeCl3·6H2O+GAA separately. The concentration of GAA was selected based on the IC50 of each glioma cell, and the concentration of FeCl3·6H2O was the same as that of GAA. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the cell proliferation ability. Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration ability, and the flow cytometry was used to analyze the rate of apoptosis in the glioma cells. Results: GAA significantly inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells, and the IC50 of GAA to LN229, SW1873, U87MG, U251MG was 9.38, 9.56, 14.53, 10.39 μmol/L. Compared with the control group, the proliferation of glioma cells was not significantly changed in the Fe3+ group, while the proliferation and migration of cells were significantly inhibited in the GAA group(P<0.05). Compared with GAA group, the activity and migration of tumor cells were significantly enhanced in the Fe3++GAA group(P<0.05), and the level of apoptosis was decreased obviously(P<0.05). Conclusion: Fe 3+ could inhibit the killing effect of GAA on human glioma cells.
[Key words]glioma; iron metabolism; gossypol acetate; apoptosis; transferrin receptor c