Effect And Mechanism Of Ursolic Acid On Proliferation And Apoptosis Of Human Tongue Cancer Cells

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of ursolic acid(UA)on human tongue cancer Tca8113 cells cultured in vitro and its specific mechanism,and provide experimental evidence for clinical treatment of tongue cancer.MethodsHuman tongue cancer Tca8113 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with different concentrations of ursolic acid(0,40,80 μmol/L)for 24 h.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 and clone formation test;Cells apoptosis was detected by Hoechst33342 staining and flow cytometry;PI3K,AKT,p-AKT,ERK,p-ERK,P38,p-P38,c-Caspase-9 and c-Caspase-3 protein expression levels were detected by Western blot.ResultsThe results of CCK8 assay showed that the proliferation ability of human tongue cancer Tca8113 cells decreased with the increase of ursolic acid concentration(P<0.01),and showed a certain concentration-dependent relationship.The results of clone formation test showed that the number of colony formation decreased significantly with the increase of ursolic acid concentration.Hoechst33342 staining results showed that compared with thecontrol group,cells in the experimental group had irregular morphology and a significantly increased number of apoptosis.Flow cytometry results showed that compared with the control group,the apoptosis rate of the experimental group cells increased significantly with the concentration of ursolic acid increased and the apoptosis rates were 1.54±1.01%,20.79±1.96% and54.38±1.81% respectively(P<0.01).Western blot results showed that compared with the control group,the expression levels of AKT,ERK,and P38 proteins in the experimental group cells were not significantly changed,and the expression levels of PI3 K,p-AKT,and p-ERK proteins were significantly decreased,and the expression levels of p-P38,c-Caspase-9,and c-Caspase-3proteins were significantly increased,and showed a certain concentration-dependent relationship.ConclusionUrsolic acid can significantly inhibit the proliferation of tongue cancer Tca8113 cells in vitro and induce its apoptosis,the mechanism may be related to the regulation of key protein expression in PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways.