Influence of melittin on viability and integrity of cell membrane on grade IV glioma.

Abstract

Influence of melittin on viability and integrity of cell membrane on grade IV glioma. The grade IV glioma is one of the malignant human tumours. Today there is no effective treatment for this type of cancer. Alternative methods are sought-after in glioma treatment, and lately melittin has been found to be useful in anticancer therapy. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of melittin on the viability and the integrity of cell membranes of the grade IV glioma cells. The U87 glioma line cells were treated of melittin in increasing concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 μg/mL) and incubated for 24 h. After incubation, the tests were performed in order to investigate the cell morphology, cell viability, membrane integrity and the way of cell death. The results have shown the devastating effect of melittin on the glioma cells. The melittin causes disintegration of cell membranes and induces cell death by apoptosis and less by necrosis.