Reihaneh Keshavarz - Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Babak Bakhshinejad - Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Sadegh Babashah - Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Narges Baghi - Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Majid Sadeghizadeh - Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Objective(s): Glioblastoma is the most lethal tumor of the central nervous system. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of exogenous delivery of p۵۳ and a nanoformulation of curcumin called dendrosomal curcumin (DNC), alone and in combination, on glioblastoma tumor cells. Materials and Methods: MTT assay was exploited to measure the viability of U۸۷-MG cells against DNC treatment. Cells were separately subjected to DNC treatment and transfected with p۵۳-containing vector and then were co-exposed to DNC and p۵۳ overexpression. Annexin-V-FLUOS staining followed by flow cytometry and real-time PCR were applied to examine apoptosis and analyze the expression levels of the genes involved in cell cycle and oncogenesis, respectively. Results: The results of cell viability assay through MTT indicated that DNC inhibits the proliferation of U۸۷-MG cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Apoptosis evaluation revealed that p۵۳ overexpression accompanied by DNC treatment can act in a synergistic manner to significantly enhance the number of apoptotic cells (۹۰%) compared with their application alone (۱۵% and ۳۸% for p۵۳ overexpression and DNC, respectively). Also, real-time PCR data showed that the concomitant exposure of cells to both DNC and p۵۳ overexpression leads to an enhanced expression of GADD۴۵ and a reduced expression of NF-κB and c-Myc. Conclusion: The findings of the current study suggest that our combination strategy, which merges two detached gene (p۵۳) and drug (curcumin) delivery systems into an integrated platform, may represent huge potential as a novel and efficient modality for glioblastoma treatment.

Apoptosis, Dendrosome, Glioblastoma Nanocurcumin, P۵۳, U۸۷-MG cell line