title: Growth inhibitive effect of betulinic acid combined with tripterine on MSB-1 cells and its mechanism.
abstract: Marek's disease (MD), a highly infectious lymphoproliferative disease in chickens, is caused by a cell-associated oncogenic herpesvirus, Marek's disease virus (MDV). MSB-1 is a MD-derived lymphoblastoid cell line and can induce tumors when inoculated into susceptible chickens. Betulinic acid, which is present as one of the major effective components in many traditional Chinese medicines, has recently been reported to inhibit growth of cancer cells and employed as a potential anticancer agent. Tripterine, a major active compound extracted from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, has now also shown anti-tumor activities in various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic growth-inhibitive effect of betulinic acid combined with tripterine on MSB-1 cells and its mechanism. Viability of MSB-1 cells was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Cell apoptotic analysis was performed by fluorescence detection. NF-κB transcription activity was detected by measuring luciferase activity. Western blotting was used to analyze the expression of p65, IκB and Meq. Our results showed that the proliferation in the combination group was significantly decreased as compared with that of monotherapy using betulinic acid or tripterine, accompanied by an induction of apoptosis, inhibition of NF-κB transcriptional activity and its targeting oncogenic gene Meq. The results suggest that the combination of betulinic acid and tripterine at lower concentration may produce a synergistic inhibitive effect on MSB-1 cells that warrants further investigation for its potential clinical applications.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002645:Chickens; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D029757:Tripterygium / Q000737:chemistry; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000094062:Betulinic Acid
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D030161:Avian Proteins; D004338:Drug Combinations; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014315:Triterpenes; C050414:celastrol; D000094062:Betulinic Acid