Anti-neoplastic and Calcium modulatory action of Caffeic acid phenethyl ester and Dasatinib in C6 glial cells: A Therapeutic Perspective

Gliomas are often recognized as highly heterogeneous cancerous phenotype. They are perpetually recurrent, obstinately resistant to treatment and hence almost incurable. Drug development studies to date have revealed only modest effect in attenuating growth of these tumors. The present study was aimed at elucidating the potential of targeting glioma through a novel combination of drugs in comparison to single agent. Here, we show that the combined administration of Caffeic acid phenethyl ester [CAPE] and Dasatinib exerts a strong antitumor action on C6 glioma cells. Combinational treatment inhibits proliferation, induces apoptosis, modulates astrocytic phenotype and decreases cell density. Results suggest that combinational therapy inhibits migration and invasiveness, decreases cell survival fraction and hence clonogenic property of C6 cells. The Nitric oxide [NO] levels were significantly reduced by combination treatment at all time points and effect was persistent over the time in comparison to single drug treatment. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy [AAS] analysis of intracellular and extracellular calcium revealed that the treatment with CAPE and Dasatinib strongly modulates the calcium [Ca2+] levels. Herein, we demonstrate that treatment of C6 glioma cells with CAPE and Dasatinib significantly decrease the activity of catalase [CAT]. The results in totality suggest that the combinational therapy remarkably reduces the proliferation of glioma cells possibly through different mechanisms, targeting multiple pathways involved in tumor growth, proliferation and development implicating the relevance of using these drugs in combination therapy for effective treatment of glioma. In vitro results suggest that CAPE and Dasatinib cotreatment could be therapeutically exploited for the management of gliomas.