| References: |
Betulinic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene, selectively induces apoptosis in tumor cells, also is a inhibitor of HIV-1 with EC50 of 1.4 μ M.
in vitro: Betulinic acid shows anti-HIV activity by blocking HIV replication in H9 lymphocytes with an EC50 value of 1.4 μM and inhibiting uninfected H9 cell growth with an IC50 value of 13 μM. Betulinic acid also acts as anti-melanoma agent through inhibiting aminopeptidase N activity with IC50 of 7.3 μM. In addition, Betulinic acid inhibits eukaryotic topoisomerase I activity with IC50 of 5 μM and can be exploited as a strong candidate for anti-tumor drug.
in vivo: Betulinic acid inhibits prostate cancer cell and tumor (xenograft) growth in athymic nude mice bearing LNCaP cells and this is due, in part, to proteasome-dependent downregulation of Sp1, Sp3, Sp4 and several Sp-regulated genes. |
