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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

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Published on: May 14, 2016

Omaveloxolone Suppresses Cell Growth and Causes Cell Cycle Arrest by Downregulating CDC20 Expression in Glioblastoma

Kuan-Ting Lee1, Yi-Chiang Hsu2, Ann-Shung Lieu1,3,4

  • 1Graduate Institutes of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
|May 29, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Omaveloxolone effectively reduces glioblastoma (GBM) tumor growth and induces cancer cell death. This is achieved by downregulating cell division cycle 20 homologue (CDC20) expression, suggesting potential for GBM treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Omaveloxolone, a synthetic oleanane triterpene, exhibits antitumor properties.
  • The precise mechanism by which omaveloxolone induces glioblastoma (GBM) cell death requires elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanism of omaveloxolone-induced GBM cell death.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of omaveloxolone in preclinical GBM models.

Main Methods:

  • Exposure of GBM cell lines (GBM8401, U-87 MG) to omaveloxolone.
  • Cell viability, morphology, cell cycle, apoptosis, and mitochondrial membrane potential assays.
  • Western blotting and next-generation sequencing for gene and protein expression analysis.
  • Evaluation in a xenograft tumor model.

Main Results:

  • Omaveloxolone demonstrated selective cytotoxicity against human GBM cells, inhibiting migration and invasion.
  • Omaveloxolone induced cell cycle arrest by downregulating cell cycle-related genes, notably cell division cycle 20 homologue (CDC20).
  • In vivo, omaveloxolone reduced tumor volume and decreased CDC20 expression in a xenograft model.

Conclusions:

  • Omaveloxolone exhibits potential as a therapeutic agent for glioblastoma.
  • The drug promotes GBM cell death, partly through the downregulation of CDC20 expression.
Keywords:
CDC20Nrf2cell cycleglioblastomaomaveloxolone

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