Effect of Paracetamol in the Proliferation of Glioblastoma Cell Line: The Role of Apoptosis, COX-2 and Cyclin B Expressions.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between paracetamol and expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2, cyclin B, cell viability and apoptosis in glioblastoma cell line.
Material and Methods: The A172 glioblastoma cells were treated with different concentrations of paracetamol and phosphate buffer saline as a vehicle for 24, 48, and 72 hours. Cell viability was detected by MTT. Bax, procaspase 3, COX-2 and Cyclin B expressions were detected using Western blotting.
Results: A paracetamol treatment of 0.5 mg/mL for 24, 48, and 72 hours led to a 14%, 31%, and 37% decrease in cell viability. The expression of COX-2 and cyclin B levels decreased by 36% and 52% respectively, after treatment with 0.5 mg/mL paracetamol. Treatment with 0.5 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL paracetamol significantly induced the expression of cleaved caspase 3, procaspase 3 and Bax proteins compared to the control group (60%, 40%, 21%, %100, 18%, 17%, respectively).
Conclusion: The results of our study showed that paracetamol has antitumoral effects on glioblastoma cells and this activity was induced by different signaling pathways.