Griseofulvin Efficiently Induces Apoptosis in In Vitro Treatment of Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma

Background/aim: Recent innovations in the development of systemic and targeted therapies have improved survival and quality of life in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. However, in most cases, this hematological malignancy of monoclonal B-lymphocytes remains incurable. Exaggerated Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been demonstrated in lymphoma and MM, therefore targeting related signaling molecules might represent a promising therapy approach. Griseofulvin, a widely used Antifungal drug, is chemically related to Other known Wnt-inhibitors and we recently demonstrated its potent in vivo efficacy in a murine myeloma model.

Materials and methods: The anti-tumor apoptotic effect of griseofulvin at doses ranging from 0.1-200 μM was investigated on a total of ten human and two murine myeloma/lymphoma cell lines, as determined by 3'3-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide (DiOC6) and propidium iodide (PI) staining in flow cytometry.

Results: Griseofulvin significantly induced Apoptosis in all investigated myeloma and lymphoma cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, while healthy control cells were less sensitive.

Conclusion: Given the known safety profile and Apoptosis induction at low effective doses, our data warrant further in vitro and in vivo studies utilizing griseofulvin as a potential therapy agent for MM and lymphoma.