The anti-neoplastic effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), Trichostatin A (TSA) and 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PB) on the human glioblastoma cell lines GBM-29, U-343 MG and U-343 MGa Cl. 2:6 were investigated. TSA and 4-PB induced apoptosis in the three cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Whereas caspase-3 activation was detected in all three cell lines, U-343 MG cells were more sensitive to the apoptotic effect of HDACi compared with U-343 MGa Cl. 2:6. TSA and 4-PB induced differentiation in the three cell lines, each cell line developing unique phenotypic characteristics. During long-term treatment with a low dose of HDACi U-343 MGa Cl. 2:6 cells developed an astrocytic morphology with expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). GFAP-negative U-343 MG cells changed their morphology in response to HDACi and down-regulated their expression of vimentin. The nestin and vimentin positive GBM-29 cells also showed a morphological differentiation, while the expression of the two malignancy markers decreased. In summary, our results showed that these three glioblastoma cell lines display unique phenotypes and differentiation patterns in response to HDACi.

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