Rana catesbeiana ribonuclease induces cell apoptosis via the caspase-9/-3 signaling pathway in human glioblastoma DBTRG, GBM8901 and GBM8401 cell lines.

Human glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive malignant brain tumor types, and the mean survival time of patients with a brain tumor is <2 years when traditional therapies are administered. Thus, numerous studies have focused on the development of novel treatments for brain tumors. Frog ribonucleases, such as Onconase and Rana catesbeiana ribonuclease (RC-RNase), exert antitumor effects on various tumor cells, including cervical cancer, breast cancer, hepatoma, leukemia, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer cells. In addition, frog Onconase has been applied as a treatment in clinical trials. However, the antitumor effects of frog ribonucleases on brain tumors are unclear. Previous studies have indicated that RC-RNase demonstrates a decreased cytotoxic effect in normal cells compared with Onconase. Therefore, the present study investigated the ability of RC-RNase to exert antitumor activities on human glioblastoma. It was found that RC-RNase inhibits the growth of the human glioblastoma DBTRG, GBM8901 and GBM8401 cells. In addition, the present study revealed that RC-RNase induces caspase-9/-3 activity and triggers the apoptotic cell death pathway in human glioblastoma cells. Notably, it was also demonstrated that RC-RNase effectively inhibits the growth of human glioblastoma tumors in a nude mouse model. Overall, the present study indicates that RC-RNase may be a potential agent for the treatment of human glioblastoma.