Oleanolic acid induces autophagic death in human gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Oleanolic acid (OA), a plant-derived pentacyclic terpenoid, is known to have hepatoprotective effects. In this study, we found that OA induced autophagic cell death in multiple human gastric cancer cell lines. Moreover, OA-induced autophagy was shown for the first time in human gastric cancer cells, evidenced by the formation of GFP-RFP-LC3 puncta and autophagosomes. OA suppressed phospho-mTOR through inhibition of the PI3 K/AKT and ERK/p38 MAPK signalling pathways and through activation of the AMPK signalling pathway. Furthermore, we found that OA-induced cytotoxicity and autophagy could be blocked by the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine or via siRNA targeting Beclin-1. Our in vivo research showed that OA delayed the formation of MGC-803 tumours in an autophagy-dependent manner. These results reveal a novel mechanism for OA in gastric cancer cells and suggest that OA could be a novel agent in the treatment of gastric cancer.