STUDY ON THE ANTI METASTATIC AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF TRITERPENE COMPOUND LUPEOL IN HUMAN LUNG CANCER

Lup-20(29)-en-3-ol, known as Lupeol is one of the most extensively studied triterpene compounds for their diverse biological properties. Natural triterpenoids gain pre-eminence in cancer research owing to their effects in regulating transcription factors and pathways associated with cell proliferation. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer activity of Lupeol on human adenocarcinomic human cell lines A549, and expression of anti-apoptotic genes. A549 cell line used in the present study as an in-vitro model of non-small cell lung cancer provides an insight into the apoptotic and anti-metastatic potential of Lupeol. Antiproliferative effects and apoptotic potential was measured using 3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and Acridine orange/Ethidium bromide staining method respectively. Invasion assay was used to mimic an experimental system to determine metastatic activity and effect of Lupeol on apoptosis-related genes was validated with RT-PCR. The results revealed that Lupeol decreased the cell viability in a dose-dependent manner with an LD50 value of 62.53 mg.mL^-1. Presence of apoptotic bodies with membrane blebbing suggests the apoptotic potential of Lupeol after treatment with Acridine orange and Ethidium bromide. Addition of Lupeol decreased cell migration authenticating anti-metastatic potential of Lupeol. mRNA expression analysis shows Lupeol treated cells down-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic genes like BcL-2 and Bcl-xL confirming the apoptotic potential of Lupeol. Based on the results, our study concludes the anti-neoplastic effects of Lupeol against non-small cell lung cancer and induction of apoptosis by Lupeol administration can render its application as a potent chemotherapeutic agent.