Vismodegib Improved Therapy of Medulloblastoma by Targeting Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway on DAOY Medulloblastoma...

Targeting smoothened (SMO) has been a remarkable strategy for treating sonic hedgehog (Shh)-dependent cancers, especially medulloblastoma. GDC-0449, also known as vismodegib, is a potent SMO inhibitor with mild toxicity and high affinity. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the anti-medulloblastoma efficacy of vismodegib in the DAOY medulloblastoma cell line.

Human DAOY medulloblastoma cells were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). 50, 80, 100, and 150 μM doses of vismodegib were used to treat cells. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), scratch, and trypan blue assays, as well as real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunofluorescence studies, were performed 24 and 48 h post-treatment.

The MTT and trypan blue assays showed a significant difference in viability between the control and treatment groups. The results of the scratch assay showed that in the control group, the cells were able to repair the lesion, while the scratch disintegrated at higher doses of vismodegib. The expression of SMO, Gli1, and MYCN genes, the main components of the SHH signalling pathway, was significantly reduced in the vismodegib-treated groups compared to the control group. Also, a notable increase in the activation of metastasis-promoting genes (Bax and p53) and a reduction in the activation of the metastasis-inhibiting gene (Bcl2) were observed.

The results of the current study confirm that vismodegib is a potent inhibitor of the Shh pathway and may be used in combination with new therapeutic methods to treat medulloblastoma.