Abstract: Objective　To investigate the effects of urolithin C (UC) on biological behaviours of glioblastoma (GBM) U251 and U87 MG cells and its regulatory mechanism. Methods　U251 and U87 MG cells were divided into 0, 20, 40, 80, 120 and 160 μmol/L UC treatment groups. The cell proliferation rates in each group at 24, 48 and 72 h were detected by CCK-8 method, respectively. The cells were divided into 0, 40, 80 and 120 μmol/L UC treatment groups. The cell colony formation ability was detected by colony formation assay. The cell migration ability at 24 and 48 h was detected by wound healing assay. The cell invasion ability was detected by Transwell invasion assay at 24 h, and the cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry at 24 h. Western blot assay was used to detect the expression levels and phosphorylation levels of AMPK, ERK and p38 MAPK. Results Compared with the 0 μmol/L group, the proliferation rates of U251 cells decreased at 48 h at different concentration UC groups, while the proliferation rate of U87 MG cells at 40 µmol/L and above decreased at 48 h (P＜0.05). Compared with the 0 µmol/L group, the clone formation rate, cell migration and invasion ability decreased in a concentration-dependent manner in the 40, 80 and 120 μmol/L U251 and the U87 MG cell groups (P＜0.05). Compared with the 0 μmol/L group, the apoptosis rates increased in the 120 µmol/L U251 and the U87 MG cell groups, and the cell cycle of U251 and U87 MG cells in the 40, 80 and 120 μmol/L groups were all blocked in the S phase (P＜0.05). Compared with the 0 μmol/L group, the levels of p-AMPK and p-p38 MAPK in U251 and U87 MG cells increased in the 40, 80, and 120 μmol/L groups, and the p-ERK levels in U251 cells increased in the 80 and 120 μmol/L groups, but the p-ERK level of U87 MG cells only increased in the 120 μmol/L group (P＜0.05). Conclusion　A certain concentration of UC can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of GBM cells, induce cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of AMPK/ERK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

Key words: glioblastoma, cell line, tumor, cell proliferation, cell movement, cell cycle, apoptosis, urolithin C, cell invasion