Betulinic acid / TumCCA Cancer Research Results

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)

Betulinic acid — Betulinic acid is a naturally occurring lupane-type pentacyclic triterpenoid with broad experimental anticancer activity, especially against melanoma, neuroectodermal, glioma, breast, colorectal, and other solid-tumor models. It is a natural-product small molecule, usually abbreviated BA or BetA, and is found in several plants, classically birch bark, with semi-synthesis commonly starting from betulin. A distinguishing feature is preferential induction of tumor-cell death through direct mitochondrial injury with relative sparing of many non-neoplastic cells in preclinical systems. Its main translational limitation is very poor aqueous solubility with correspondingly weak oral/systemic developability unless formulation or derivatization is used.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

  1. Direct mitochondrial membrane permeabilization with intrinsic apoptosis activation
  2. Mitochondrial ROS increase with collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release
  3. ER-stress and unfolded-protein-response activation, including GRP78-linked stress signaling
  4. Suppression of NF-κB and other pro-survival transcriptional programs, including Sp-family signaling in some models
  5. Cell-cycle arrest with reduced cyclin/CDK signaling
  6. Anti-migratory and anti-invasive effects via EMT, FAK, ROCK1, MMP, and cytoskeletal remodeling pathways
  7. Secondary metabolic suppression of aerobic glycolysis and hypoxia-response signaling in susceptible models
  8. Adjunct sensitization to chemo- or radiotherapy in selected preclinical settings

Bioavailability / PK relevance: Betulinic acid is highly lipophilic and poorly water-soluble, which strongly limits oral absorption and systemic exposure. PK behavior is formulation-dependent, and much of the translational literature focuses on nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles, conjugates, or topical delivery rather than conventional oral dosing.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Many in-vitro anticancer studies use low-to-mid micromolar concentrations, which are often difficult to reproduce reliably in vivo with unformulated parent betulinic acid. Accordingly, mechanistic findings are useful biologically, but direct concentration matching to standard oral/systemic use is often poor unless enhanced-delivery systems are used.

Clinical evidence status: Strong preclinical and formulation-development literature; very limited human oncology evidence. Cancer-facing clinical development appears to remain early-phase/topical, with orphan designation for topical metastatic melanoma but no FDA approval for that indication. Betulinic acid itself is not an established approved anticancer drug.

-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

Mechanistic profile

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 Mitochondrial permeabilization ↑ MOMP, ↓ ΔΨm, ↑ cytochrome c release, ↑ apoptosis ↔ / milder effect P-R Core tumor-selective death trigger Best-supported central mechanism; helps explain activity in apoptosis-competent but therapy-resistant tumors.
2 Mitochondrial ROS increase ↑ ROS ↔ / possible antioxidant sparing (context-dependent) P-R Amplifies mitochondrial stress and death signaling ROS appears mechanistically relevant in many tumor models, but not every study makes it the dominant initiating event.
3 Caspase axis and caspase-independent death ↑ caspase-9, ↑ caspase-3, ↑ PARP cleavage; caspase-independent death also reported ↔ R-G Executes apoptosis after mitochondrial injury BA can still kill some tumor cells when classical caspase execution is partly blocked, indicating non-canonical death contribution.
4 ER stress / UPR / GRP78 ↑ ER stress, ↑ UPR, ↑ GRP78 stress signaling ↔ R-G Links proteostatic stress to apoptosis and metastasis suppression Especially relevant in breast and gastric cancer models; may also connect to metabolic suppression and chemosensitization.
5 NF-κB survival signaling ↓ NF-κB ↔ / ↓ inflammatory tone R-G Reduces survival, inflammatory, and resistance programs Common downstream convergence node across several tumor types.
6 Cell-cycle machinery ↓ cyclin D1, ↓ CDK2, ↓ CDK4, ↑ cell-cycle arrest ↔ G Slows proliferation Usually supportive rather than primary; often follows stress and survival-pathway disruption.
7 EMT / invasion / matrix remodeling ↓ EMT, ↓ FAK, ↓ ROCK1, ↓ MMP2, ↓ MMP9, ↓ migration, ↓ invasion ↔ G Antimetastatic effect Consistent with reduced motility and invasive phenotype in multiple solid-tumor models.
8 Glycolysis ↓ glucose uptake, ↓ lactate, ↓ ECAR, ↓ HK2, ↓ PKM2, ↓ LDHA ↔ G Secondary metabolic suppression Not the universal initiating mechanism; appears important in selected breast-cancer and GRP78-linked systems.
9 HIF-1α hypoxia axis ↓ HIF-1α, ↓ VEGF, ↓ GLUT1, ↓ PDK1 ↔ G Reduces hypoxic adaptation and angiogenic drive Relevant in hypoxic tumor biology and helps explain antiangiogenic/metabolic effects in some models.
10 NRF2 / antioxidant buffering ↓ NRF2 or ↓ redox buffering (model-dependent) ↔ / possible preservation of antioxidant tone (context-dependent) R-G May widen tumor redox vulnerability Direction is not uniform across all models; safer to treat this as contextual rather than universally core.
11 Ca²⁺ stress ↑ Ca²⁺ (context-dependent) ↔ P-R Supports organelle stress and apoptotic signaling Usually part of the broader mitochondrial/ER stress network rather than a stand-alone primary target.
12 Radiosensitization or Chemosensitization ↑ sensitivity to radiation or selected drugs Unclear G Adjunct leverage Preclinical evidence supports additive or sensitizing effects with irradiation and with some chemotherapy settings, but this is not yet clinically established.
13 Clinical Translation Constraint Poor solubility and limited systemic exposure constrain reproducibility Same formulation constraint G Delivery bottleneck Main barrier is not lack of mechanistic richness but drug-like exposure; translation currently depends heavily on formulation, derivatization, or topical/local use.

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)
TumCCA, Tumor cell cycle arrest: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Tumor cell cycle arrest refers to the process by which cancer cells stop progressing through the cell cycle, which is the series of phases that a cell goes through to divide and replicate. This arrest can occur at various checkpoints in the cell cycle, including the G1, S, G2, and M phases. S, G1, G2, and M are the four phases of mitosis.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2753- BetA,    Betulinic acid induces apoptosis by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling and mitochondrial pathways in human cervical cancer cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, HeLa
PI3K↓, BA treatment acted through downregulating a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) subunit and suppressing the Akt phosphorylation at Thr308 and Ser473 after increasing the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species
p‑Akt↓,
ROS↑,
TumCCA↑, BA induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, which was consistent with the cell cycle-related protein results in which BA significantly enhanced the expression of p27Kip and p21Waf1/Cip1 in HeLa cells.
p27↑,
P21↑,
mt-Apoptosis↑, mitochondrial apoptosis, as reflected by the increased expression of Bad and caspase-9
BAD↑,
Casp9↑,
MMP↓, decline in mitochondrial membrane potential.
eff↓, preincubation of the cells with glutathione (antioxidant) blocked the process of apoptosis, prevented the phosphorylation of downstream substrates.

5593- BetA,    Betulinic acid decreases specificity protein 1 (Sp1) level via increasing the sumoylation of sp1 to inhibit lung cancer growth
- in-vitro, Lung, NA
Sp1/3/4↓, Betulinic acid decreases specificity protein 1 (Sp1) level
cycA1/CCNA1↓, The down-regulation of cyclin A2 by BA treatment resulted in decreased retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation and cell cycle G(2)/M arrest.
p‑RB1↓,
TumCCA↑,

5591- BetA,    Advances and challenges in betulinic acid therapeutics and delivery systems for breast cancer prevention and treatment
- Review, BC, NA
BioAv↓, However, its poor water solubility limits its optimal therapeutic potential.
BioAv↑, nano-drug delivery systems (NDDSs) have gained significant attention as a method to substantially improve low solubility and poor drug bioavailability, enhance targeted drug delivery, and reduce side effects.
selectivity↑, reviews by Simone Fulda23,24 strengthened BA's potential for cancer treatment and prevention, particularly its ability to selectively trigger apoptosis in cancer cells while causing minimal harm to normal cells.
eff↑, It is important to note that the anticancer effects of BA on different types of tumors are more potent at a pH lower than 6.8.34
angioG↓, figure 3
*antiOx↑,
*Inflam↓,
MMP↓, BA-induced mitochondrial depolarization
Bcl-2↓, BA treatment has been shown to lower Bcl-2 expression and increase Bax, resulting in the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 through the mitochondrial pathway.63
BAX↑,
Casp9↑,
Casp3↑,
GRP78/BiP?, BA directly targets GRP78, triggering ER stress by activating the PERK-eIF2α-CHOP apoptotic cascade
ER Stress↑,
PERK↑,
CHOP↑,
ChemoSen↑, BA's ability to chemosensitize BC cells to taxanes highlights its importance in situations of drug resistance
SESN2↑, Under hypoxia, BA strongly increases SESN2 expression.
ROS↑, Reducing SESN2 levels enhances BA-induced ROS production, DNA damage, and radiosensitivity, while decreasing autophagic flux, indicating that SESN2-mediated autophagy serves as a protective adaptive response.68
MOMP↓, decreases the mitochondrial outer membrane potential (MOMP),
MAPK↑, This leads to the activation of p38 Mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), the release of cytochrome C, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF),
Cyt‑c↑,
AIF↑,
STAT3↓, BA suppresses the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 signaling pathways
FAK↓, BA's inhibition of STAT3, as well as FAK, leads to decreased expression of MMPs and elevated TIMP-2, thereby impairing cancer cell migration and invasion
TIMP2↑,
TumCMig↓,
TumCI↓,
Sp1/3/4↓, Sp inhibition reduces cancer gene expression, inhibiting cancer cell growth.
TumCCA↑, It increases cell numbers in the G2/M phase, leading to cell cycle arrest.
DNAdam↑, causes DNA damage, thereby inhibiting the progression and invasion of cancer cells.

2726- BetA,    Betulinic acid induces DNA damage and apoptosis in SiHa cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, SiHa
tumCV↓, BA was shown to destroy SiHa cells preferentially in a concentration dependent manner with a 50% inhibition of the cells at 39.83 μg/ml.
DNAdam↑, BA was coupled with DNA strand breaks, morphological changes, disruption of MMP, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the cell arrest at G0/G1 stage of cell cycle.
MMP↓,
ROS↑,
TumCCA↑,
TOP1↓, It has been previously reported that inhibition of topoisomerases might be an additional mechanism of BA-induced cell death

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↓,

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;

2717- BetA,    Betulinic Acid Induces ROS-Dependent Apoptosis and S-Phase Arrest by Inhibiting the NF-κB Pathway in Human Multiple Myeloma
- in-vitro, Melanoma, U266 - in-vivo, Melanoma, NA - in-vitro, Melanoma, RPMI-8226
Apoptosis↑, BA mediated cytotoxicity in MM cells through apoptosis, S-phase arrest, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse, and overwhelming reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation.
TumCCA↑, S-Phase Arrest in U266 Cells
MMP↓,
ROS↑, exhibited concentration-dependent increases in intracellular ROS
eff↓, ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) effectively abated elevated ROS, the BA-induced apoptosis was partially reversed
NF-kB↓, BA resulted in marked inhibition of the aberrantly activated NF-κB pathway in MM
Cyt‑c↑, BA mediated the release of cyt c and activated cleaved caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 and cleaved PARP1
Casp3↑,
Casp8↑,
Casp9↑,
cl‑PARP1↑,
MDA↑, here is a concentration-dependent increase in MDA contents and reduction in SOD activities, especially for the high concentration group.
SOD↓,
SOD2↓, expression of genes SOD2, FHC, GCLM, and GSTM was all decreased following treatment with BA (40 μM)
GCLM↓,
GSTA1↓,
FTH1↓, FHC
GSTs↓, GSTM
TumVol↓, BA Inhibits the Growth of MM Xenograft Tumors In Vivo. BA-treated group were significantly reduced (inhibition ratio of approximately 72.1%).

2716- BetA,    Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the potential of betulinic acid in cancer prevention and treatment
- Review, Var, NA
AntiCan↑, BA has a range of well-documented pharmacological and biological effects, including antibacterial, immunomodulatory, diuretic, antiviral, antiparasitic, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities
TumCD↑, anticancer properties of BA are mediated by the activation of cell death and cell cycle arrest, production of reactive oxygen species, increased mitochondrial permeability, modulation of nuclear factor-κB and Bcl-2 family signaling
TumCCA↑,
ROS↑,
NF-kB↓,
Bcl-2↓,
Half-Life↝, The half-life eliminations were 11.8 and 11.5 h after 500 and 250 mg/kg of intraperitoneal (i.p.) BA administration
GLUT1↓, the expression of HIF target genes, such as GLUT1, VEGF, and PDK1 was also suppressed by BA
VEGF↓,
PDK1↓,

2737- BetA,    Multiple molecular targets in breast cancer therapy by betulinic acid
- Review, Var, NA
TumCP↓, Betulinic acid (BA), a pipeline anticancer drug, exerts anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer cells is mainly through inhibition of cyclin and topoisomerase expression, leading to cell cycle arrest.
Cyc↓,
TOP1↓,
TumCCA↑,
angioG↓, anti-angiogenesis effect by inhibiting the expression of transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), specificity protein (Sp) transcription factors, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling.
NF-kB↓, Inhibition of NF-kB signaling pathway
Sp1/3/4↓,
VEGF↓,
MMPs↓, inhibiting the expression of matrix metalloproteases
ChemoSen↑, Synergistically interactions of BA with other chemotherapeutics are also described in the literature.
eff↑, BA is highly lipid soluble [74,75], and it readily passes through membranes, including plasma and mitochondrial membranes. BA acts directly on mitochondria
MMP↓, decreases mitochondrial outer membrane potential (MOMP), leading to increased outer membrane permeability, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS),
ROS↑,
Bcl-2↓, reducing expression of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-XL and Mcl-1
Bcl-xL↓,
Mcl-1↓,
lipid-P↑, BA inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells via lipid peroxidation resulting from the generation of ROS
RadioS↑, The cytotoxicity effect of BA on glioblastoma cells is not strong; however, some studies indicate that the combination of BA and radiotherapy could represent an advancement in treatment of glioblastoma [
eff↑, BA and thymoquinone inhibit MDR and induce cell death in MCF-7 breast cancer cells by suppressing BCRP [

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

2743- BetA,    Betulinic acid and the pharmacological effects of tumor suppression
- Review, Var, NA
ROS↑, BA improves the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and alters the mitochondrial membrane potential gradient, followed by the release of cytochrome c (Cyt c), which causes the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis of tumor cells via a caspas
MMP↓,
Cyt‑c↑,
Apoptosis↑,
TumCCA↑, BA can inhibit cancer cell growth and proliferation via cell cycle arrest
Sp1/3/4↓, BA, can inhibit the protein expression of Sp1, Sp2 and Sp4 through the microRNA (miR)-27a-ZBTB10-Sp1 axis
STAT3↓, BA can downregulate the activation of STAT3 through the upregulation of Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1)
NF-kB↓, NF-κB can be inhibited by reducing the activation of inhibitor of NF-κB (IκBα) kinase (IKKβ) and phosphorylation of IκBα with BA
EMT↓, nvasion and metastasis of malignancies is prevented via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inhibition of topoisomerase I
TOP1↓,
MAPK↑, BA leads to the activation, via phosphorylation, of pro-apoptotic MAPK proteins, P38 and SAP/JNK, the formation of ROS and the upregulation of caspase
p38↑,
JNK↑,
Casp↑,
Bcl-2↓, BA downregulates Bcl-2 and upregulates the Bax gene in HeLa cell lines
BAX↑,
VEGF↓, BA can decrease the expression of VEGF via Sp proteins, thus having an antiangiogenic role
LAMs↓, BA suppresses the expression of lamin B1 in pancreatic cancer cells

2733- BetA,    Betulinic Acid Inhibits Cell Proliferation in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Modulating ROS-Regulated p53 Signaling
- in-vitro, Oral, KB - in-vivo, NA, NA
TumCP↓, BA dose-dependently inhibited KB cell proliferation and decreased implanted tumor volume.
TumVol↓,
mt-Apoptosis↑, BA significantly promoted mitochondrial apoptosis, as reflected by an increase in TUNEL+ cells and the activities of caspases 3 and 9, an increase in Bax expression, and a decrease in Bcl-2 expression and the mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate.
Casp3↑,
Casp9↑,
BAX↑,
Bcl-2↑,
OCR↓, BA dose-dependently decreased the oxygen consumption rate, indicating that BA induced a significant mitochondrial dysfunction
TumCCA↑, BA significantly increased cell population in the G0/G1 phase and decreases the S phase cell number, indicating the occurrence of G0/G1 cell cycle arrest.
ROS↑, ROS generation was significantly increased by BA
eff↓, and antioxidant NAC treatment markedly inhibited the effect of BA on apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and proliferation.
P53↑, BA dose-dependently increased p53 expression in KB cells and implanted tumors.
STAT3↓, Inhibition of STAT3 Signaling Is Involved in BA-Induced Suppression of Cell Proliferation
cycD1/CCND1↑, We found that BA mainly increased the mRNA expression of cyclin D1 but had no significant effect on cyclin E, CDK2, CDK4, or CDK6 expression.


Showing Research Papers: 1 to 12 of 12

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 12

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GCLM↓, 1,   GSTA1↓, 1,   GSTs↓, 1,   lipid-P↑, 1,   MDA↑, 1,   ROS↑, 9,   ROS∅, 1,   i-ROS↑, 1,   SOD↓, 1,   SOD2↓, 1,  

Metal & Cofactor Biology ⓘ

FTH1↓, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

AIF↑, 1,   CDC25↓, 1,   MMP↓, 9,   mtDam↑, 1,   OCR↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

PDK1↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

p‑Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 4,   mt-Apoptosis↑, 2,   BAD↑, 1,   BAX↑, 4,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 4,   Bcl-2↑, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 6,   Casp7↑, 1,   Casp8↑, 2,   Casp9↑, 7,   Cyt‑c↑, 4,   JNK↑, 1,   MAPK↑, 2,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   MOMP↓, 1,   p27↑, 1,   p38↑, 1,   TumCD↑, 2,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

Sp1/3/4↓, 4,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

tumCV↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

CHOP↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 1,   GRP78/BiP?, 1,   PERK↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

SESN2↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 2,   P53↑, 1,   PARP↓, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 2,   cl‑PARP1↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK2↓, 1,   Cyc↓, 1,   cycA1/CCNA1↓, 3,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 2,   cycD1/CCND1↑, 1,   P21↑, 2,   p‑RB1↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 12,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

EMT↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 3,   TOP1↓, 4,  

Migration ⓘ

FAK↓, 1,   LAMs↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,   MMPs↓, 1,   Slug↓, 1,   Snail↓, 1,   TIMP2↑, 1,   TumCI↓, 2,   TumCMig↓, 2,   TumCP↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 2,   VEGF↓, 3,  

Barriers & Transport ⓘ

GLUT1↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

NF-kB↓, 6,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 2,   eff↓, 4,   eff↑, 3,   Half-Life↝, 1,   RadioS↑, 1,   selectivity↑, 3,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   TumVol↓, 2,  
Total Targets: 88

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 2,   ROS↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 2,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

hepatoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: TumCCA, Tumor cell cycle arrest
12 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#:322  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=on  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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