Abstract
Medulloblastoma (MB) is a heterogeneous group of malignant pediatric brain tumors, divided into molecular groups with distinct biological features and prognoses. Currently available therapy often results in poor long-term quality of life for patients, which will be afflicted by neurological, neuropsychiatric, and emotional sequelae. Identifying novel therapeutic agents capable of targeting the tumors without jeopardizing patients' quality of life is imperative. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a plant-derived compound whose action against a series of diseases including cancer has been investigated, with no side effects reported so far. Previous studies have not examined whether RA has effects in MB. Here, we show RA is cytotoxic against human Daoy (IC50 = 168 μM) and D283 (IC50 = 334 μM) MB cells. Exposure to RA for 48 h reduced histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) expression while increasing H3K9 hyperacetylation, reduced epidermal growth factor (EGFR) expression, and inhibited EGFR downstream targets extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and AKT in Daoy cells. These modifications were accompanied by increased expression of CDKN1A/p21, reduced expression of SOX2, and a decrease in proliferative rate. Treatment with RA also reduced cancer stem cell markers expression and neurosphere size. Taken together, our findings indicate that RA can reduce cell proliferation and stemness and induce cell cycle arrest in MB cells. Mechanisms mediating these effects may include targeting HDAC1, EGFR, and ERK signaling, and promoting p21 expression, possibly through an increase in H3K9ac and AKT deactivation. RA should be further investigated as a potential anticancer agent in experimental MB.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, MCTI, Brazil) Grants 163018/2020-0 and 101566/2022-0 to A.L.H., grants 407765/2017-4, 305647/2019-9, and 406484/2022-8 (INCT BioOncoPed) to RR; the Children’s Cancer Institute (ICI); and the Clinical Hospital institutional research fund (FIPE-HCPA; number 2021-0412).
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ALH was responsible for study conception and experimental design. ALH, GLM, MS, LF, GNB, and EB carried out the experiments. RR supervised the study. All authors contributed to statistical analysis, data interpretation, support for the study, writing and revision of this article.
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Laschuk Herlinger, A., Lovatto Michaelsen, G., Sinigaglia, M. et al. Modulation of Viability, Proliferation, and Stemness by Rosmarinic Acid in Medulloblastoma Cells: Involvement of HDACs and EGFR. Neuromol Med 25, 573–585 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-023-08758-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-023-08758-x