Antitumor Activity of Betulinic Acid and Betulin in Canine Cancer Cell Lines.

Abstract

Betulinic acid (BA) and betulin (BT) exhibit a variety of pharmacological properties including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ones. Canine lymphoma and osteosarcoma have a high mortality rate and need more effective therapeutic approaches. In this study, the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of BA and BT were investigated in canine T-cell lymphoma (CL-1), canine B-cell lymphoma (CLBL-1) and canine osteosarcoma (D-17) cell lines. The cultured cells were treated with several concentrations of BA or BT for 24, 48 and 72 h, and cell proliferation was assessed by the MTT assay. Cell apoptotic rate and cell cycle were analyzed using flow cytometry. Anti-proliferative effect of BT and BA was concentration- and time-dependent. Moreover, BA and BT arrested cell cycle in S phase in CL-1 and D-17 cells, and in G0/G1 phase in CLBL-1 cells. Both compounds showed an antitumor activity, and the effects of BA were stronger than that of BT.