{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T16:01:32Z","timestamp":1787068892624,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,17]],"date-time":"2025-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752710400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007771","name":"Medical University of Silesia, Katowice","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BNW-1-022\/K\/5\/O"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BNW-1-022\/K\/5\/O"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007771","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tissue hypoxia is commonly observed in head cancers and contributes to both molecular and functional changes in tumour cells. It is known to stimulate erythropoiesis, angiogenesis, and metabolic alterations within tumour cells. Glioblastoma, a type of brain tumour, is characterized by rapid proliferation and aggressive growth. Recent studies have indicated that natural products may hold potential as components of cancer therapy. Among these, Polish propolis and its active compound, quercetin, have demonstrated promising anti-cancer properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of selected cytokines\u2014specifically IL-6, IL-9, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1)\u2014produced by astrocytes of the CCF-STTG1 cell line. The cytotoxic effects of ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) and quercetin were assessed using the MTT assay. Astrocytes were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 200 ng\/mL) and\/or IFN-\u03b1 (100 U\/mL), followed by treatment with EEP or quercetin (25\u201350 \u00b5g\/mL) under hypoxic conditions for two hours. Cytokine concentrations were measured using the xMAP Luminex Multiplex Immunoassay and the Multiplex Bead-Based Cytokine Kit. Our study demonstrated that Polish propolis and its component quercetin modulate the tumour microenvironment in vitro, primarily by altering the levels of specific cytokines. The HCA analysis revealed that IL-6 and MCP-1 formed a distinct cluster at the highest linkage distance (approximately 100% of Dmax), suggesting that their expression patterns are significantly different from those of the other cytokines and that they are more similar to each other than to the rest. PCA analysis showed that EEP-PL (50 \u03bcg\/mL) with IFN-\u03b1 and EEP-PL (50 \u03bcg\/mL) with LPS exert similar activities on cytokine secretion by astrocytes. Similar effects were demonstrated for EEP-PL 50 \u03bcg\/mL + LPS + IFN-\u03b1, EEP-PL 25 \u03bcg\/mL + IFN-\u03b1 and EEP-PL 25 \u03bcg\/mL + LPS + IFN-\u03b1. Our findings suggest that Polish propolis and quercetin may serve as promising natural agents to support the treatment of stage IV malignant astrocytoma. Nonetheless, further research is needed to confirm these results.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30143008","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]],"date-time":"2025-07-18T10:10:38Z","timestamp":1752833438000},"page":"3008","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Potential Anti-Cancer Effects of Polish Ethanolic Extract of Propolis and Quercetin on Glioma Cells Under Hypoxic Conditions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9266-2292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ma\u0142gorzata","family":"K\u0142\u00f3sek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2006-6715","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Kurek-G\u00f3recka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6173-2702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rados\u0142aw","family":"Balwierz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemistry, University of Opole, Oleska 48, 45-052 Opole, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gra\u017cyna","family":"Pietsz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8216-4495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zenon P.","family":"Czuba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"328","article-title":"Significance of Genetic and Radiological Examinations in Diagnosis and Therapy of Brain Glioma in Adult Patients","volume":"71","author":"Waszczuk","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nowotw. 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