Database Query Results : Betulinic acid, , PARP

BetA, Betulinic acid: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Betulinic acid "buh-TOO-li-nik acid" is a natural compound with antiretroviral, anti malarial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. It is found in the bark of several plants, such as white birch, ber tree and rosemary, and has a complex mode of action against tumor cells.
-Betulinic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid
-vitro concentrations range from 1–100 µM, in vivo studies in rodents have generally used doses from 10–100 mg/kg
Precursor: Betulin, via oxidation at C-28
Lipophilicity: High (poor aqueous solubility)
-half-life reports vary 3-5 hrs?. Reported half-life varies by formulation and species; several studies report multi-hour systemic persistence.
BioAv -hydrophobic molecule with relatively poor water solubility. 
Main Cancer action
-Direct mitochondrial targeting in cancer cells
-Minimal effect on normal cells

Key pathways
-Mitochondrial membrane permeabilization
-ROS-mediated apoptosis
-Caspase-independent death

Chemo relevance: Generally compatible, Not a redox buffer

Pathways:
- often induce ROS production
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells(Often associated with reduced redox buffering capacity in tumor cells (e.g., GSH depletion); NRF2 direction model-dependent.): NRF2↓, SOD↓, GSH↓
- May Raise AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑ Reports suggest relative sparing of normal cells and preservation of antioxidant capacity in some models
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓(typ), COX2↓, p38↓ (context-dependent; often stress-activated), Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : , MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, IGF-1↓, VEGF↓, ROCK1↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : P53↑, HSP↓(model-dependent), Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis (secondary to mitochondrial stress) ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, GRP78↑(ER stress), GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, EGFR↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells in some studies : CSC↓, GLi1↓, β-catenin↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓(typ), AKT↓(typ), JAK↓, STAT↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓(AMPK is often activated during metabolic stress), ERK↓, JNK,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,
- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial-mediated) ↑ mitochondria depolarization; ↑ cytochrome-c; ↑ caspase-9/3 activation ↔ limited activation (higher exposure required) R, G Execution of apoptosis Betulinic acid (BA) is well known to engage the intrinsic apoptotic cascade, typically downstream of redox and signaling perturbations.
2 ROS / redox stress ↑ ROS (P→R) ↔ basal or antioxidant adaptation in some contexts P, R Stress induction Many studies report ROS elevation in tumor cells exposed to BA; the direction and magnitude vary by cell type and exposure.
3 Mitochondrial permeability transition / ΔΨm loss ΔΨm ↓ (R→G) ↔ maintained R, G Mitochondrial failure Often observed as an early event preceding caspase activation in apoptosis studies.
4 PI3K / AKT / mTOR survival axis ↓ PI3K/AKT signaling; ↓ phospho-mTOR ↔ R, G Survival/growth suppression Betulinic acid often downregulates pro-survival kinase signaling, sensitizing cells to apoptosis and cytostasis.
5 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activity ↔ R, G Pro-survival/inflammatory transcription suppression Reduction in NF-κB activity limits pro-survival gene expression; supports sensitization to stressors.
6 MAPK re-wiring (JNK / ERK / p38) Stress-MAPK shifts; JNK/p38 often ↑; ERK context-dependent ↔ P, R Early stress signaling MAPK responses vary by model, with stress-associated p38/JNK often activated and ERK modulation variable.
7 Cell-cycle checkpoints (p21, p27, cyclins) ↑ p21/p27; ↑ G1/S or G2/M arrest ↔ G Proliferation arrest BA often induces cell-cycle blockade, slowing proliferation before apoptosis commitment.
8 Angiogenic signaling (VEGF & related) ↓ VEGF; anti-angiogenic outputs ↔ G Anti-angiogenic support Typically seen at the level of reduced pro-angiogenic factor expression or secretion in longer-term assays.
9 EMT / invasion / migration programs (MMPs) ↓ MMP2/MMP9; ↓ migration/invasion ↔ G Anti-invasive phenotype Often measured as reduced invasive capacity and decreased expression of EMT markers in later time points.
10 Autophagy modulation ↑ LC3-II; ↑ autophagic flux (model dependent) ↔ G Adaptive clearance / cell fate shift BA can modulate autophagy, which may either sensitize cells to death pathways or reflect adaptive stress responses.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (primary/physical-chemical effects; rapid kinase/redox signaling)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (acute redox and stress-response activation)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotypic outcomes)
PARP, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage is a hallmark of caspase activation. PARP (Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase) is a family of proteins involved in a variety of cellular processes, including DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death. PARP enzymes play a crucial role in repairing single-strand breaks in DNA.
PARP has gained significant attention, particularly in the treatment of certain types of tumors, such as those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. These mutations impair the cell's ability to repair double-strand breaks in DNA through homologous recombination. Cancer cells with these mutations can become reliant on PARP for survival, making them particularly sensitive to PARP inhibitors.
PARP inhibitors, such as olaparib, rucaparib, and niraparib, have been developed as targeted therapies for cancers associated with BRCA mutations.

PARP Family:
The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) are a family of enzymes involved in a number of cellular processes, including DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death.
PARP1 is the predominant family member responsible for detecting DNA strand breaks and initiating repair processes, especially through base excision repair (BER).

PARP1 Overexpression:
In several cancer types—including breast, ovarian, prostate, and lung cancers—elevated PARP1 expression and/or activity has been reported.
High PARP1 expression in certain cancers has been associated with aggressive tumor behavior and resistance to therapies (especially those that induce DNA damage).
Increased PARP1 activity may correlate with poorer overall survival in tumors that rely on DNA repair for survival.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2744- BetA,    Betulin and betulinic acid: triterpenoids derivatives with a powerful biological potential
- Review, Var, NA
Apoptosis↓, Various studies have demonstrated that BE is able to induce apoptosis in numerous cancer cell lines (
TumCCA↑, 10 uM concentration, BE arrests cell cycle of murine melanoma B164A5 cells in S phase.
Casp9↑, BE is involved in the sequential activation of caspase-9, caspases 3 and 7, and cleaving of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) (Potze et al. 2014).
Casp3↑,
Casp7↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
MMP↓, mitochondrial membrane potential loss (Li et al. 2010; Potze et al. 2014).
ROS↑, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production
TOP1↓, BA was also shown to inhibit the proliferation of topoisomerases and therefore express anti-proliferative activity
NF-kB↓, BA was demonstrated to inhibit activating of NF-kB

2754- BetA,    Betulinic acid inhibits prostate cancer growth through inhibition of specificity protein transcription factors
- in-vitro, Pca, LNCaP
VEGF↓, betulinic acid decreases expression of vascular endothelial growth (VEGF)
survivin↓, and the antiapoptotic protein survivin
Sp1/3/4↓, betulinic acid acts as a novel anticancer agent through targeted degradation of Sp proteins that are highly overexpressed in tumors.
Casp↑, Betulinic acid also induced caspase-dependent PARP cleavage in LNCaP cells, and this was accompanied by decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein survivin
PARP↑,
survivin↓,
angioG↓, betulinic acid also induces proapoptotic and antiangiogenic responses in LNCaP cells as evidenced by decreased expression of VEGF and survivin and activation of caspase-dependent PARP cleavage

2718- BetA,    The anti-cancer effect of betulinic acid in u937 human leukemia cells is mediated through ROS-dependent cell cycle arrest and apoptosis
- in-vitro, AML, U937
TumCCA↑, BA exerted a significant cytotoxic effect on U937 cells through blocking cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and inducing apoptosis, and that the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels increased after treatment with BA.
Apoptosis↑,
i-ROS↑,
cycA1/CCNA1↓, down-regulation of cyclin A and cyclin B1, and up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 revealed the G2/M phase arrest mechanism of BA.
CycB/CCNB1↓,
P21↑,
Cyt‑c↑, BA induced the cytosolic release of cytochrome c by reducing the mitochondrial membrane potential with an increasing Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio.
MMP↓,
Bax:Bcl2↑,
Casp9↑, BA also increased the activity of caspase-9 and -3, and subsequent degradation of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase.
Casp3↑,
PARP↓,
eff↓, However, quenching of ROS by N-acetyl-cysteine, an ROS scavenger, markedly abolished BA-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis, indicating that the generation of ROS plays a key role in inhibiting the proliferation of U937 cells by BA treatment.
*antiOx↑, Accumulated evidence demonstrates that BA possesses various biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and anti-tumor effects
*Inflam↓,
*hepatoP↑,
selectivity↑, BA are complex and depends on the type of cancer cells, without causing toxicity toward normal cells
NF-kB↓, Shen et al. (2019) recently reported that the suppression of the nuclear factor-kappa B pathway increased downstream oxidant effectors, thereby promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in BA-stimulated multiple myeloma cells.
*ROS↓, Although BA is known to have antioxidant activity that blocks the accumulation of ROS due to oxidative stress in normal cells (Cheng et al. 2019;

2719- BetA,    Betulinic Acid Restricts Human Bladder Cancer Cell Proliferation In Vitro by Inducing Caspase-Dependent Cell Death and Cell Cycle Arrest, and Decreasing Metastatic Potential
- in-vitro, CRC, T24/HTB-9 - in-vitro, Bladder, UMUC3 - in-vitro, Bladder, 5637
TumCD↑, BA induced cell death in bladder cancer cells and that are accompanied by apoptosis, necrosis, and cell cycle arrest.
Apoptosis↑,
TumCCA↑,
CycB/CCNB1↓, BA decreased the expression of cell cycle regulators, such as cyclin B1, cyclin A, cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 2, cell division cycle (Cdc) 2, and Cdc25c
cycA1/CCNA1↓,
CDK2↓,
CDC25↓,
mtDam↑, BA-induced apoptosis was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction that is caused by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, which led to the activation of mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic pathway.
BAX↑, BA up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2-accociated X protein (Bax) and cleaved poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP), and subsequently activated caspase-3, -8, and -9.
cl‑PARP↑,
Casp3↑,
Casp8↑,
Casp9↑,
Snail↓, decreased the expression of Snail and Slug in T24 and 5637 cells, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in UMUC-3 cells.
Slug↓,
MMP9↓,
selectivity↑, Among the bladder cancer cell lines, 5637 cells were much more sensitive to BA than T24 or UMUC-3 cells under the same conditions. However, BA does not affect cell growth in normal cell lines including RAW 264.7
MMP↓, BA Induces Loss of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (MMP, ΔΨm) in Human Bladder Cancer Cells
ROS∅, As a result, we found that BA did not affect intracellular ROS levels in all three bladder cancer cells. In addition, BA-induced cell viability inhibition was not restored by NAC pre-treatment
TumCMig↓, BA Decreases Migration and Invasion of Human Bladder Cancer Cells
TumCI↓,


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 4

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↑, 1,   ROS∅, 1,   i-ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

CDC25↓, 1,   MMP↓, 3,   mtDam↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 2,   BAX↑, 1,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 3,   Casp7↑, 1,   Casp8↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 3,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   survivin↓, 2,   TumCD↑, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

Sp1/3/4↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

PARP↓, 1,   PARP↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 2,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK2↓, 1,   cycA1/CCNA1↓, 2,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 2,   P21↑, 1,   TumCCA↑, 3,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

TOP1↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

MMP9↓, 1,   Slug↓, 1,   Snail↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

NF-kB↓, 2,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

eff↓, 1,   selectivity↑, 2,  
Total Targets: 38

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   ROS↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

hepatoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: PARP, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage
4 Betulinic acid
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:42  Target#:239  State#:%  Dir#:%
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