title: Oleanolic acid inhibits cell survival and proliferation of prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo through the PI3K/Akt pathway.
abstract: Oleanolic acid (OA) is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid and possesses diverse pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer effects that have been confirmed in multiple types of human cancers. However, the potential effect of natural OA on human prostate cancer is still unclear. The present study aimed to explore whether and how OA exerted anti-cancer effects in prostate cancer. Our data showed that OA inhibited cell viability and proliferation, and promoted cell apoptosis and G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer PC-3, DU145, and LNCaP cells, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, OA was found to regulate the expression levels of apoptosis-related and cell cycle-related proteins, as well as the activity of PI3K/Akt pathway, in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistically, our data revealed that OA exerted anti-cancer effects in vitro in PC-3 and DU145 cells by repressing the PI3K/Akt pathway. In agreement, OA also suppressed the tumor growth of PC-3 cells in vivo via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate the anti-cancer properties of OA in prostate cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo, and provide the experimental evidence for the use of OA as an adjuvant agent for prostate cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xuechao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yarong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.|Department of Urology, Hospital of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Urumqi, 830002, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongxue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yajun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, Hubei, People's Republic of China. yifei_xing@163.com.
authors.forename: Yifei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009828:Oleanolic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009828:Oleanolic Acid; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
keywords: Cell survival; Oleanolic acid; PI3K/Akt pathway; Proliferation; Prostate cancer