We investigated how synthetic analogs of vitamin D, specifically tacalcitol and calcipotriol, impact the growth and movement of T98G human glioblastoma cells. This type of brain cancer is particularly aggressive and challenging to treat, making it vital to explore new therapeutic options.
Our findings revealed that both vitamin D analogs significantly decreased cell viability and reduced the rate at which these cancer cells proliferated. This was evident in our tests, where even low concentrations of the analogs, ranging from 1 nM to 10 μM, showed a notable suppression of cell growth.
We also conducted a wound-healing assay to assess the migration of T98G cells. Both tacalcitol and calcipotriol were effective in slowing down the movement of these cells compared to a control group. Interestingly, even though we saw these promising effects, the analogs did not appear to trigger apoptosis, as measured by caspase-3 and -7 activities.
Overall, our research supports the potential of vitamin D analogs as a promising avenue for the treatment of glioblastoma by significantly inhibiting both the growth and migration of cancer cells.