Ursolic acid promotes apoptosis of SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells through ROCK/PTEN mediated mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1.

Ursolic acid, extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine bearberry, can induce apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. However, its pro-apoptotic mechanism still needs further investigation. More and more evidence demonstrates that mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1 appears necessary for the regulation of apoptosis. Here, we report that ursolic acid (UA) potently induces the apoptosis of gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells. Further mechanistic studies revealed that the ROCK1/PTEN signaling pathway plays a critical role in UA-mediated mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1 and apoptosis. These findings imply that induction of apoptosis by ursolic acid stems primarily from the activation of ROCK1 and PTEN, resulting in the translocation of cofilin-1 from cytoplasm to mitochondria, release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and finally inducing apoptosis of gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells.