Pristimerin triggers AIF-dependent programmed necrosis in glioma cells via activation of JNK

• Pristimerin inhibits the growth of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo.
• Pristimerin induced glioma cell death via AIF-dependent necrosis.
• JNK activation leads to mitochondrial depolarization and nuclear accumulation of AIF.
• ROS accounts for pristimerin-induced JNK activation.
• Pristimerin has potential therapeutic effect in the treatment of glioma.

Programmed necrosis is established as a new form of programmed cell death and is emerging as a new strategy of treatment for cancers. Pristimerin is a natural chemical with anti-tumor effect despite the fact that its mechanism remains poorly understood. In this study, we used glioma cell lines and mice model of xenograft glioma to investigate the effect of pristimerin on glioma and its underlying mechanism. We found that pristimerin inhibited the viabilities of glioma cells in vitro and the growth of xenograft gliomas in vivo, which was accompanied by upregulation of JNK and phosphor-JNK, nuclear accumulation of AIF, and elevation in the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2. In vitro studies showed that pristimerin induced necrosis in glioma cells, as well as mitochondrial depolarization, overproduction of ROS and reduction of GSH. Ablation of AIF level with SiRNA mitigated pristimerin-induced nuclear accumulation of AIF and prevented necrosis in glioma cells. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of JNK with SP600125 or knockdown of its level with SiRNA reversed mitochondrial depolarization attenuated the elevation of Bax/Bcl-2 and suppressed nuclear accumulation of AIF. Further, inhibition of ROS with NAC not only rescued glioma cell necrosis but also suppressed JNK activation, mitigated Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, maintained mitochondrial membrane potential, and inhibited AIF translocation into nucleus. Therefore, we demonstrated first in this study that pristimerin triggered AIF-dependent necroptosis in glioma cells via induction of mitochondrial dysfunction by activation of JNK through overproduction of ROS. These results suggest that pristimerin has potential therapeutic effects on glioma.