Pomolic acid exhibits anticancer potential against a docetaxel­resistant PC3 prostate cell line.

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of cancer­related death in the male population worldwide. Mortality of PC is dependent on tumor recurrence and its progression to metastatic disease. We examined the effects of pentacyclic triterpene pomolic acid (PA) on docetaxel­resistant PC3 cells. Cell viability was evaluated using the MTT assay. Apoptosis was evaluated by cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry. The activity of multiple drug resistance (MDR) proteins was determined by the accumulation of specific substrates [mitoxantrone, rhodamine 123 and 5­carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA)]. The evaluation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) proteins was conducted by immunocytochemical assays. It was demonstrated that PC3R cells presents multidrug resistance and EMT phenotype and express active P­gp/ABCB1 and MRP1/ABCC1. It was shown that PA strongly reduced the viability and induced apoptosis of both PC3 and PC3R cell lines. Moreover, PA bypassed P­gp/ABCB1, downmodulated MRP1/ABCC1 activities, and partially reverted EMT induced by DTX. Our goal was to evaluate the potential of PA for the development of novel strategies to treat castration­resistant PC.

Pomolic acid induces apoptosis and inhibits multidrug resistance protein MRP1 and migration in glioblastoma cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive of primary brain tumors, determine short survival and poor quality of life. Therapies used for its treatment are not effective and chemotherapy failure is partially due to multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanisms present in the tumor cells. New therapeutic strategies are needed in order to improve survival in GBM. The present study investigated the activity of the pentacyclic triterpene pomolic acid (PA) in GBM. Pomolic acid decreased the viability and induced apoptosis of GBM cells as demonstrated by DNA fragmentation. It also induced uncoupling of mitochondria membrane potential and activation of caspase-3 and -9. Pomolic acid-induced apoptosis is dependent on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production as it is inhibited by anti-oxidant treatment. Pomolic acid also down-modulated the activity of the multidrug resistance associated protein 1 (MRP1) and inhibited migration of GBM cells. These results show that PA acts on several pathways of GBM drug resistance and therefore may be of potential interest for the treatment of this tumor.

3ß-Acetyl tormentic acid reverts MRP1/ABCC1 mediated cancer resistance through modulation of intracellular levels of GSH and inhibition of GST activity.

ABC transporter overexpression is an important mechanism of multidrug resistance (MDR) and one of the main obstacles to successful cancer treatment. As these proteins actively remove chemotherapeutics from the tumor cells, the pharmacological inhibition of their activity is a possible strategy to revert drug resistance. Moreover, the ability of MDR inhibitors to sensitize resistant cells to conventional drugs is important for their clinical use. Evidence has shown that the multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1) is a negative prognostic marker in patients with lung, gastric, or breast cancers or neuroblastoma. Previous data have shown that 3ß-acetyl tormentic acid (3ATA) inhibits the transport activity of the protein MRP1/ABCC1. In this study, we evaluated the ability of 3ATA to sensitize an MDR cell line (GLC4/ADR), which overexpresses MRP1, and investigated the anti-MRP1 mechanisms activated by 3ATA. The results showed that 3ATA is able to reverse the resistance of the MDR cell line to doxorubicin and vincristine, two drugs that are commonly used in cancer chemotherapy. Regarding the sensitizing mechanism induced by 3ATA, this work shows that the triterpene does not modulate the expression of MRP1/ABCC1 but is able to reduce total intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels and decrease the activity of glutathione-s-transferase (GST), the enzyme responsible for the glutathione conjugation of xenobiotics. Together, these results show that 3ATA sensitizes the MDR cell line overexpressing MRP1/ABCC1 to antineoplastic drugs and that this effect is mediated by the modulation of intracellular levels of GSH and GST activity.

Apoptosis-inducing effects of Melissa officinalis L. essential oil in glioblastoma multiforme cells.

Current therapies for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are not effective. This study investigated the activity of the M. officinalis essential oil (EO) and its major component (citral) in GBM cell lines. Both EO and citral decreased the viability and induced apoptosis of GBM cells as demonstrated by DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activation. Antioxidant prevented citral-induced death, indicating its dependence on the production of reactive oxygen species. Citral downmodulated the activity and inhibited the expression of multidrug resistance associated protein 1 (MRP1). These results show that EO, through its major component, citral, may be of potential interest for the treatment of GBM.

3ß-acetyl tormentic acid induces apoptosis of resistant leukemia cells independently of P-gp/ABCB1 activity or expression.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a potentially fatal stem-cell cancer. P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB1) activity has been described as a relevant factor in the chemotherapeutic failure and correlated to a poor prognosis in these malignancies. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of the antineoplastic activity of 3ß-acetyl tormentic acid (3ATA), a triterpene isolated from C. lyratiloba, on Lucena-1, an MDR leukemia cell line, that overexpressed P-gp/ABCB1. Results showing that this triterpene induced DNA-fragmentation, activation of caspase-3 and cytochrome c release indicated that its activity is mediated by the activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Interestingly, this triterpene did not interfere with P-gp/ABCB1 expression or activity, indicating that induction of death is not mediated by any effect on this protein. Moreover, the results show that none of the others triterpenes from C. lyratiloba were able to modulate the activity of P-gp/ABCB1. Together these results suggest 3ATA and the other triterpenes as a promising material for the development of anti-neoplastic drugs for leukemia and other tumors independent of P-gp/ABCB1 activity or expression.

Oleanolic acid initiates apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines and reduces metastasis of a B16F10 melanoma model in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Drug resistance, a process mediated by multiple mechanisms, is a critical determinant for treating lung cancer. The aim of this study is to determine if oleanolic acid (OA), a pentacyclic triterpene present in several plants, is able to circumvent the mechanisms of drug resistance present in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and to induce their death. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: OA decreased the cell viability of the NSCLC cell lines A459 and H460 despite the presence of active, multidrug-resistant (MDR) MRP1/ABCC1 proteins and the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and survivin. These effects are due to apoptosis, as evidenced by the capacity of OA to induce fragmentation of DNA and activate caspase 3. Induction of NSCLC cell death by OA cannot be explained by inhibition of the MDR proteins, since treatment with triterpene had little or no effect on the activity or expression of MRP1. Moreover, treatment with OA had no effect on the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, but increased the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, altering the Bcl-2/Bax balance towards a pro-apoptotic profile. OA also decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein survivin. Furthermore, OA decreased the expression of the angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and decreased the development of melanoma-induced lung metastasis. CONCLUSION: Our data provide a significant insight into the antitumoral and antimetastatic activity of OA in NSCLC and suggest that including OA in the NSCLC regimens may help to decrease the number of relapses and reduce the development of metastases.

Natural triterpenoids from Cecropia lyratiloba are cytotoxic to both sensitive and multidrug resistant leukemia cell lines.

The cytotoxicity of four triterpenoids, euscaphic acid (1), tormentic acid (2), 2alpha-acetyl tormentic acid (3), and 3beta-acetyl tormentic acid (4), isolated from the roots of Cecropia lyratiloba (Moraceae) by countercurrent chromatography, was evaluated in vitro in sensitive and multidrug resistant leukemia cell lines. A structure/activity relationship analysis of the compounds was performed. Acetylation of compound 2 at C2 increased its activity by a factor of 2 while acetylation at C3 had a smaller effect. Compound 1 induces death by activation of caspase-3, dependent apoptotic pathway. Furthermore, the four triterpenoids were also active toward a multidrug resistant (MDR) leukemia cell line, overexpressing glycoprotein-P (P-gp). These results reveal the potential of the terpenoids as source for the development of new anti-neoplastic and anti-MDR drugs.