The efficacy of betulinic acid in triple-negative breast cancer

Daniel A. Weber, Mixia Zhang, Pengwei Zhuang, Yanjun Zhang, Janelle Wheat, Geoffrey Currie, Zaynab Al-Eisawi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)
23 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose: The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer remains a daunting challenge with the standard-of-care treatments eventually failing due to acquired drug resistance, toxic side effects and the presence of a deregulated immune response. New treatments for overcoming these drawbacks include the use of plant extracts.

Study design: In this study, the efficacy of betulinic acid, a naturally abundant phytochemical exhibiting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity, has been evaluated for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines. Furthermore, the ability of betulinic acid to inhibit angiogenesis was also determined.

Results: Here, we report that betulinic acid was able to inhibit the inflammatory response, inhibit angiogenesis and cause cell cycle arrest ultimately causing apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Our findings support that the identification of naturally occurring anti-tumour compounds may provide a chemotherapeutic approach for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.

Conclusion: Overall, our results provide a molecular basis for the ability of betulinic acid to mediate apoptosis, suppress inflammation and inhibit angiogenesis in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalSAGE Open Medicine
Volume2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2014. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • Triple-negative breast cancer
  • drug resistance
  • toxicity
  • phytochemical
  • betulinic acid

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