Results
Title

Sensitivity to cisplatin in primary cell lines derived from human glioma correlates with levels of EGR-1 expression.

Authors

Calogero, Antonella; Porcellini, Antonio; Lombari, Vincenza; Fabbiano, Cinzia; Arcella, Antonietta; Miscusi, Massimo; Ponti, Donatella; Ragona, Giuseppe

Abstract

Background: Less than 30% of malignant gliomas respond to adjuvant chemotherapy. Here, we have asked whether variations in the constitutive expression of early-growth response factor 1 (EGR-1) predicted acute cytotoxicity and clonogenic cell death in vitro, induced by six different chemotherapics. Materials and methods: Cytotoxicity assays were performed on cells derived from fresh tumor explants of 18 human cases of malignant glioma. In addition to EGR-1, tumor cultures were investigated for genetic alterations and the expression of cancer regulating factors, related to the p53 pathway. Results: We found that sensitivity to cisplatin correlates significantly with levels of EGR-1 expression in tumors with wild-type p53/INK4a/p16 status. Conclusion: Increased knowledge of the mechanisms regulating EGR-1 expression in wild-type p53/INK4a/p16 cases of glioma may help in the design of new chemotherapeutic strategies for these tumors.

Subjects

ANTINEOPLASTIC agents; NERVOUS system tumors; IMMUNOLOGICAL adjuvants; CELL death; DRUG therapy

Publication

Cancer Cell International, 2011, Vol 11, Issue 1, p5

ISSN

1475-2867

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1186/1475-2867-11-5