Background: Malignant gliomas are the most common primary tumors in the central nervous system. Methods: We investigated the combined effect of PG490 and LPS on the induction of the apoptotic pathway in human astroglioma cells. Results: Treatment of U87 cells with combination of 50nM of PG490 and $50{mu}g/ml$ of LPS resulted in increased internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, cleavage of PLC-${gamma}1$, and downregulation of cIAP1 and XIAP. The combination of LPS and PG490 treatment-induced apoptosis is mediated through the activation of caspase, which is inhibited by the caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk. Also, release of cytochrome c was found in PG490 and LPS-cotreated U87 cell. Conclusion: Taken together, combination of PG490 and LPS appears to be a potent inducer of apoptosis in astrogliaoma cells, and might have some benefit in the treatment of glioma patients.