We studied the effect of an activator (ShTh) and an inhibitor (cyclopamine) of the Hedgehog signaling pathway on proliferation of human glioma cell lines U87-MG and U251-MG and cultured human astrocytes. The Hedgehog signaling pathway is activated in glioma cells, but not in cultured human astrocytes. Experiments with Shh and cyclopamine can serve as an additional criterion for assessing activity of Hedgehog signaling in known cell lines and primary cultured cells.
Keywords: Hedgehog signaling pathway; Shh polypeptide; cyclopamine; glioblastoma multiforme; proliferation.