Ursolic Acid Inhibits Tumor Growth via Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Ursolic acid (UA), a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid, is a promising compound for cancer prevention and therapy. However, its mechanisms of action have not been well elucidated in colorectal cancer cells. Here, using cultured human colon cancer cell lines SW620 and HCT116, this assay demonstrates that UA reduces cell viability, inhibits cell clone formation, and induces caspase-3 mediated apoptosis. Additional experiments show that UA inhibits cell migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), including E-cadherin, Vimentin, Integrin, Twist, and Zeb1 biomakers. These results suggest that UA inhibits cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in colorectal cancer cells by affecting mechanisms that regulate EMT. Taken together, the results suggested that the anti-proliferation and anti-metastasis activities of UA was through EMT inhibition in colorectal cancer.