Identification of thioridazine, an antipsychotic drug, as an antiglioblastoma and anticancer stem cell agent using public gene expression data.

ABSTRACT: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a common and malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) have been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis, tumor maintenance and therapeutic resistance. Thus, to discover novel candidate therapeutic drugs for anti-GBM and anti-GSCs is an urgent need. We hypothesized that if treatment with a drug could reverse, at least in part, the gene expression signature of GBM and GSCs, this drug may have the potential to inhibit pathways essential in the formation of GBM and thereby treat GBM. Here, we collected 356 GBM gene signatures from public databases and queried the Connectivity Map. We systematically evaluated the in vitro antitumor effects of 79 drugs in GBM cell lines. Of the drugs screened, thioridazine was selected for further characterizat

SUBMITTER: Cheng HW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4669717 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature