Harmine inhibits proliferation and migration of glioblastoma via ERK signalling

Harmine is a beta-carboline alkaloid found in various medicinal plants. While this alkaloid has been used in folk medicine as an anticancer agent, there are no reports of its usage in the treatment of glioblastoma. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of harmine on the proliferation and migration of glioblastoma cells and elucidate the critical signals involved. We found that harmine considerably inhibited the proliferation and migration of glioblastoma cells. Through cell-based real-time FRET imaging, we demonstrated that harmine induces a sustained decrease in ERK signalling, whereas mTOR, Rac1, and JNK remain unaffected. Furthermore, we demonstrated that harmine inhibits EGF-induced ERK signalling and, consequently, EGF-induced cell proliferation and colony formation. Our findings indicate that harmine has anticancer properties in glioblastoma cells. It inhibits cellular proliferation and migration through ERK signalling. These findings suggest that harmine could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of glioblastoma.