A Triptolide Derivative Enhances Antitumor Activity in Glioma Cells in Vitro

Background: Treating glioma with triptolide (TP) produces unsatisfactory outcomes. Previous studies showed that TP combined with succinic acid could sustain antitumor activity during cancer treatment. However, this activity of TP linked with succinic acid has been less investigated during the treatment of glioma. In this study, triptolide-succinic acid ester was synthesized, and its antitumor activity in glioma cells in vitro was determined.Methods: TP was coupled with succinic anhydride (SA) to obtain triptolide-succinic acid ester (TP-SAE). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell, wound healing assays, and flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis were used to evaluate the antitumor activity of TP-SAE in vitro.Results: Results from the cell counting kit-8 assay revealed that TP-SAE rapidly reduced proliferation of glioma cells compared with TP and TP + SA. Transwell and wound healing assays revealed that TP-SAE significantly decreased the invasion and migration of glioma cells compared with TP and TP + SA. The flow cytometry apoptosis assay indicated that apoptosis in glioma cells treated with TP-SAE was significantly higher than in those treated with TP and TP + SA. Conclusions: Triptolide-succinic acid ester could inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration activity of glioma cells and promote apoptosis of glioma cells in vitro.