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Chemopreventive effect of Betulinic acid via mTOR -Caspases/Bcl2/Bax apoptotic signaling in pancreatic cancer.
- Source :
-
BMC complementary medicine and therapies [BMC Complement Med Ther] 2020 Jun 08; Vol. 20 (1), pp. 178. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jun 08. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Background: Pancreatic cancer is aggressive with no symptoms until the advanced stage reached. The increased resistance of pancreatic cancer to chemotherapy demonstrates a dilemma in the clinical field. Hence, it is a matter of great urgency to develop an effective drug to treat patients with pancreatic cancer. Betulinic acid is a major triterpene isolated from spina date seed. Several studies have suggested its low toxicity and side effects to patients with malaria and inflammation. However, relevant studies on betulinic acid in inhibiting cancer were insufficient and the molecular mechanism was unclear. This study aimed to systematically explore the potential anti-cancer functions of betulinic acid in pancreatic cancer, and investigate its underlying molecular mechanism.<br />Methods: The Counting Kit-8 assay, colony formation, transwell invasion assay, wound healing assay, flow cytometry and xenograft nude mice model were used to evaluate the effect of betulinic acid on the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of pancreatic cancer cells.<br />Results: Our results showed that betulinic acid obviously suppressed pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. We also determined that betulinic acid inhibited pancreatic cancer by specifically targeting mTOR signaling rather than Nrf2 or JAK2.<br />Conclusions: These findings clarify that betulinic acid is a potential and valuable anticancer agent for pancreatic cancer, and indicate the specific molecular target of betulinic acid.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Caspases metabolism
Cell Line, Tumor
Disease Models, Animal
Humans
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Nude
Pentacyclic Triterpenes
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 metabolism
TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases metabolism
bcl-2-Associated X Protein metabolism
Betulinic Acid
Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology
Apoptosis
Pancreatic Neoplasms drug therapy
Triterpenes pharmacology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2662-7671
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- BMC complementary medicine and therapies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 32513155
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-02976-7