Boswellic acid fractions induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in hepatocellular carcinoma cell line [HEP-G2] through p53 accumulation

ABSTRACT

There has been growing interest in naturally occurring compounds with anti-cancer potential. Boswellic acid fractions [BA] are the bioactive constituent of the oleogum resin of Boswellia carterii Birdwood [Bursearceae]. It has been shown to exert anti-neoplastic and anti-inflammatory effects. The antitumor activity molecular pathways of BA action are not clear. Nevertheless, BA is known to induce apoptosis by p53-dependent and p53-independent pathways in cancer cell lines. Growth inhibition is associated with induction of cell cycle arrest. In this study, the anticancer effect of BA in human HepG-2 cancer cells line was investigated. BA has exhibited effective cell growth inhibition by inducing cancer cells to undergo G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis. Blockade of cell cycle was associated with increased levels of p21. BA treatment triggered the apoptotic pathway indicated by a change in caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation. We also found that, BA-induced cell growth inhibition as a result of increase in the expression level of p53. These results confirm a critical role of p53 in BA-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis of human hepatoma cancer cells