1. Anti-tumor effects of telmisartan in glioma-astrocyte non-contact co-cultures: A critical role of astrocytic IL-6-mediated paracrine growth promotion.
- Author
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Quan W, Xu CS, Ma C, Chen X, Yu DH, Li ZY, Wang DW, Tang F, Wan GP, Wan J, Wang ZF, and Li ZQ
- Subjects
- Humans, Cell Line, Tumor, Paracrine Communication drug effects, Cell Movement drug effects, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Antineoplastic Agents therapeutic use, Receptors, Interleukin-6 metabolism, Losartan pharmacology, Brain Neoplasms drug therapy, Brain Neoplasms metabolism, Brain Neoplasms pathology, Tumor Microenvironment drug effects, Telmisartan pharmacology, Telmisartan therapeutic use, Astrocytes drug effects, Astrocytes metabolism, Interleukin-6 metabolism, Coculture Techniques, Glioma drug therapy, Glioma metabolism, Glioma pathology, Cell Proliferation drug effects, STAT3 Transcription Factor metabolism, Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers pharmacology, Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers therapeutic use, PPAR gamma metabolism
- Abstract
Telmisartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) blocker, exhibits broad anti-tumor activity. However, in vitro, anti-proliferative effects are shown at doses far beyond the therapeutic plasma concentration. Considering the role of tumor microenvironment in glioma progression, glioma-astrocyte co-cultures were employed to test the anti-tumor potential of low-dose telmisartan. When a high dose was required for a direct anti-proliferative effect on glioma cell lines, a low dose significantly inhibited glioma cell proliferation and migration in the co-culture system. Under co-culture conditions, upregulated IL-6 expression in astrocytes played a critical role in glioma progression. Silencing IL-6 in astrocytes or IL-6R in glioma cells reduced proliferation and migration. Telmisartan (5 μM) inhibited astrocytic IL-6 expression, and its anti-tumor effects were reversed by silencing IL-6 or IL-6R and inhibiting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activity in glioma cells. Moreover, the telmisartan-driven IL-6 downregulation was not imitated by losartan, an AT1R blocker with little capacity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) activation, but was eliminated by a PPARγ antagonist, indicating that the anti-glioma effects of telmisartan rely on its PPARγ agonistic activity rather than AT1R blockade. This study highlights the importance of astrocytic IL-6-mediated paracrine signaling in glioma growth and the potential of telmisartan as an adjuvant therapy for patients with glioma, especially those with hypertension., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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