scispace - formally typeset
Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

Betulin Is a Potent Anti-Tumor Agent that Is Enhanced by Cholesterol

Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
BE induces apoptosis utilizing a similar mechanism as BetA and is prevented by cyclosporin A (CsA), which indicates that BE has potent anti-tumor activity especially in combination with cholesterol.
Abstract
Betulinic Acid (BetA) and its derivatives have been extensively studied in the past for their anti-tumor effects, but relatively little is known about its precursor Betulin (BE). We found that BE induces apoptosis utilizing a similar mechanism as BetA and is prevented by cyclosporin A (CsA). BE induces cell death more rapidly as compared to BetA, but to achieve similar amounts of cell death a considerably higher concentration of BE is needed. Interestingly, we observed that cholesterol sensitized cells to BE-induced apoptosis, while there was no effect of cholesterol when combined with BetA. Despite the significantly enhanced cytotoxicity, the mode of cell death was not changed as CsA completely abrogated cell death. These results indicate that BE has potent anti-tumor activity especially in combination with cholesterol.

read more

Content maybe subject to copyright    Report

Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

Soda-lime glass as biocompatible material to fabricate capillary-model devices by laser technologies

TL;DR: In this article , the optimal laser parameters required for fabricating channels with a diameter:depth rate of 2:1, keeping a semi-circular section, were determined for soda-lime glass substrates with pulsed lasers operating in the nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond temporal range.
Posted ContentDOI

Derivation of stationary distributions of biochemical reaction networks via structure transformation

TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a method to derive analytic stationary distributions from deterministic steady states by transforming BRNs to have a special dynamic property, called complex balancing, which can reveal the unique properties of their stochastic dynamics such as robustness, sensitivity and multi-modality.
Posted ContentDOI

Partitioning stable and unstable expression level variation in cell populations: a theoretical framework with application to the T cell receptor

TL;DR: A quantitative framework is developed that resolves the expression variation into stable and unstable components, based on time series of cohorts’ means, that can be combined with technologies that measure gene or protein expression in single cells or in bulk.
Posted ContentDOI

Unimodal effects of pigment richness on niche and fitness differences explain species richness and ecosystem function in light-limited phytoplankton communities

TL;DR: It is shown, using theory and simulations for light-limited phytoplankton, that combing photosynthetic pigments is indeed a necessary condition for coexistence and stimulates ecosystem function, but pigment richness does mostly not permit the coexistence of more than two species, and increases productivity at most 60% compared to single-pigment communities.
Posted ContentDOI

Feeling left out or just surprised? Neural correlates of social exclusion and expectancy violations in adolescence

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare neural responses to exclusion and over-inclusion, a similarly unexpected social occurrence that violates fair play expectations, but does not involve rejection, with a focus on implications for models of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) function.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

Proapoptotic BAX and BAK: A Requisite Gateway to Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Death

TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that doubly deficient cells are resistant to multiple apoptotic stimuli that act through disruption of mitochondrial function: staurosporine, ultraviolet radiation, growth factor deprivation, etoposide, and the endoplasmic reticulum stress stimuli thapsigargin and tunicamycin.
Journal ArticleDOI

Overview of cell death signaling pathways

TL;DR: Changing attention is being focused on alternative signaling pathways leading to cell death including necrosis, autophagy, and mitotic catastrophe.
Journal ArticleDOI

Studies on succinate-tetrazolium reductase systems. iii. points of coupling of four different tetrazolium salts.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the points of coupling between four tetrazolium salts and the respiratory chain (succinate to O2) in rat-liver tissue suspensions.
Journal ArticleDOI

Pharmacological properties of the ubiquitous natural product betulin.

TL;DR: A new mechanism of action has been confirmed for some of the most promising anti-HIV derivatives, which makes them potentially useful additives to the current anti- HIV therapy.
Journal ArticleDOI

Chemistry, biological activity, and chemotherapeutic potential of betulinic acid for the prevention and treatment of cancer and HIV infection

TL;DR: Because of its selective cytotoxicity against tumor cells and favorable therapeutic index, even at doses up to 500 mg/kg body weight, betulinic acid is a very promising new chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of HIV infection and cancer.
Related Papers (5)