Berberine sensitizes human glioma cells, but not normal glial cells, to ionizing radiation in vitro. Yount G, Qian Y, Moore D, Basila D, West J, Aldape K, Arvold N, Shalev N, Haas-Kogan D. California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA. yount@cooper.cpmc.org The identification of nontoxic agents that can enhance the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains a challenge in oncology. We evaluated human GBM cell lines for their responsiveness to berberine, an alkaloid compound used commonly in Asia as an antibiotic. In experiments measuring clonogenic survival, treatment with a nontoxic dose of berberine rendered GBM cells more sensitive than vehicle-treated control cells to x-rays. Such radiosensitization was not observed in parallel experiments with primary human glial cultures. These data suggest that berberine could be integrated with postoperative radiotherapy to selectively promote residual GBM tumor cell death PMID: 15500008 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] J Exp Ther Oncol. 2004 Jul;4(2):137-43. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.