The Up-Regulation of Oxidative Stress as a Potential Mechanism of Novel MAO-B Inhibitors for Glioblastoma Treatment

Gliomas are malignant brain tumors characterized by rapid spread and growth into neighboring tissues and graded I-IV by the World Health Organization. Glioblastoma is the fastest growing and most devastating IV glioma. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the biological effects of two potent and selective Monoamine Oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors, Cmp3 and Cmp5, in C6 glioma cells and in CTX/TNA2 astrocytes in terms of cell proliferation, apoptosis occurrence, inflammatory events and cell migration. These compounds decrease C6 glioma cells viability sparing normal astrocytes. Cell cycle analysis, the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (MMP) and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production were detected, revealing that Cmp3 and Cmp5 induce a G1 or G2/M cell cycle arrest, as well as a MMP depolarization and an overproduction of ROS; moreover, they inhibit the expression level of inducible nitric oxide synthase 2, thus contributing to fatal drug-induced oxidative stress. Cmp5 notably reduces glioma cell migration via down-regulating Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9. This study demonstrated that our novel MAO-B inhibitors increase the oxidative stress level resulting in a cell cycle arrest and markedly reduces glioma cells migration thus reinforcing the hypothesis of a critical role-played by MAO-B in mediating oncogenesis in high-grade gliomas.