Betulinic acid for cancer treatment and prevention

  • Betulinic acid is a natural product with a range of biological effects, for example potent antitumor activity. This anticancer property is linked to its ability to induce apoptotic cell death in cancer cells by triggering the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. In contrast to the cytotoxicity of betulinic acid against a variety of cancer types, normal cells and tissue are relatively resistant to betulinic acid, pointing to a therapeutic window. Compounds that exert a direct action on mitochondria present promising experimental cancer therapeutics, since they may trigger cell death under circumstances in which standard chemotherapeutics fail. Thus, mitochondrion-targeted agents such as betulinic acid hold great promise as a novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of human cancers. Keywords: apoptosis, cancer, betulinic acid, mitochondria Keywords: AIF, apoptosis inducing factor; Apaf-1, Apoptotic protease activating factor-1; BA, betulinic acid; DIABLO, direct IAP Binding protein with Low PI; HtrA2, high temperature requirement protein A; IAPs, Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; MOMP, mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization; ROS, reactive oxygen species; PARP, Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase; Smac, second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; TRAIL, tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand; zVAD.fmk, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone

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Metadaten
Author:Simone FuldaORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-243077
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms9061096
ISSN:1422-0067
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19325847
Parent Title (English):International journal of molecular sciences
Publisher:Molecular Diversity Preservation International
Place of publication:Basel
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2008
Date of first Publication:2008/06/27
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2012/05/23
Tag:apoptosis; betulinic acid; cancer; mitochondria
Volume:9
Issue:6
Page Number:12
First Page:1096
Last Page:1107
HeBIS-PPN:303693304
Institutes:Medizin / Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 3.0