Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of piperlongumine on the proliferation of glioma cells and molecular mechanism involved.MethodsWe treated two kinds of high-grade glioma (HGG) cells with piperlongumine and divided the cells of every kind into a control and a treatment group.Then we assessed cell growth level of each group using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.We assessed reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and peroxiredeoxin 4 (PPDX4) activity of cells in each group using detecting kits.We assessed cell apoptosis level using annexin V staining method.We also examined the expression of PRDX1-6 using reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR).ResultsCompared with the control group,piperlongumine treatment inhibited cell proliferation and increased ROS levels (both P<0.05),but had little effect on normal brain cells (P<0.05).Compared with the control group,piperlongumine treatment promoted cell apoptosis (P<0.05) and downregulated the expression of PRDX4 (P<0.05).ConclusionPiperlongumine preferentially promotes HGG cell apoptosis by downregulating and inactivating PRDX4.