Betulinic Acid Kills Colon Cancer Stem Cells

Title:Betulinic Acid Kills Colon Cancer Stem Cells

Volume: 11 Issue: 5

Author(s): Lisette Potze, Simone di Franco, Jan H. Kessler, Giorgio Stassi and Jan Paul Medema

Affiliation:

Keywords: Betulinic acid, cancer stem cells, cancer treatment, colon cancer, stearoyl CoA-desaturase, tumor resistance.

Abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to be the origin of cancer and it is suggested that they are resistant to chemotherapy. Current therapies fail to eradicate CSCs and therefore selecting a resistant cell subset that is able to facilitate tumor recurrences. Betulinic acid (BetA) is a broad acting natural compound, shown to induce cell death via the inhibition of the stearoyl-CoA- desaturase (SCD- 1). This enzyme converts saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids and is over-expressed in tumor cells. Here we show that BetA induces rapid cell death in all colon CSCs tested and is able to affect the CSCs directly as shown, via the loss of clonogenic capacity. Similar results were observed with inhibition of SCD-1, suggesting that SCD-1 activity is indeed a vulnerable link in colon CSCs and can be considered an ideal target for therapy in colon cancer.

Cite this article as:

Potze Lisette, di Franco Simone, H. Kessler Jan, Stassi Giorgio and Paul Medema Jan, Betulinic Acid Kills Colon Cancer Stem Cells, Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2016; 11 (5) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1574888X11666151203223512