Global Transcriptome Analysis of Bitter Melon Extract, Induced Responses in Glioblastoma U87 Cells

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain cancer with a poor outlook, highlighting the need for treatments that can target several tumor survival pathways. In this study, we tested the anti-proliferative effects of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) extract (BME) and examined how it changes gene expression in U87 MG glioblastoma cells. BME reduced U87 MG cell growth in both a dose- and time-dependent way, with an IC₅₀ of 659 µg/mL. RNA sequencing showed 908 genes were affected, with 380 upregulated and 528 downregulated. Analysis revealed that BME’s growth-inhibiting effects were linked to the activation of apoptosis, cellular senescence, ferroptosis, p53, and stress-response pathways, while key tumor-promoting pathways like PI3K-AKT, TNF, TGF-β, and cytokine-cytokine receptor signaling were suppressed. These results suggest that BME slows glioblastoma cell growth by boosting stress responses that inhibit growth and weakening survival signals. Overall, our findings offer a detailed look at how BME works at the transcriptome level and support further study of its active compounds as possible multi-target treatments for glioblastoma.