Ursolic acid / CSCs Cancer Research Results

UA, Ursolic acid: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Natural compound found in apples and rosemary.
Ursolic acid (UA) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid found in many plants (notably apple peel, rosemary, thyme, holy basil, and other herbs). In cancer models it is best described as a multi-target signaling modulator with prominent effects on NF-κB inflammation/survival transcription, STAT3, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and MAPK pathways, with downstream outcomes including cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, and reduced invasion/EMT. A practical translational constraint is poor aqueous solubility and low oral bioavailability, so many strong in-vitro µM effects may not map cleanly to typical oral exposure without formulation.

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 NF-κB inflammatory / survival transcription NF-κB ↓; COX-2/iNOS/cytokines/Bcl-2 family/MMPs ↓ (reported) Inflammation tone ↓ (context) R, G Anti-inflammatory + anti-survival transcription One of the most frequently reported UA effects across tumor models; downstream impacts include reduced pro-survival and pro-metastatic gene programs.
2 STAT3 axis (JAK/STAT3 signaling) STAT3 activity ↓ (reported); downstream targets ↓ ↔ R, G Oncogenic transcription suppression UA is often reported to suppress STAT3 signaling, contributing to reduced proliferation/survival signaling.
3 PI3K → AKT (± mTOR) survival axis PI3K/AKT ↓; mTORC1 tone ↓ (reported; model-dependent) ↔ R, G Growth/survival modulation Commonly listed mechanism; direction and strength vary by cell line and exposure.
4 MAPK re-wiring (ERK / JNK / p38) Stress-MAPK modulation (context-dependent) ↔ P, R, G Signal reprogramming JNK/p38 activation and ERK modulation are reported variably; avoid fixed arrows unless tied to a specific model.
5 Cell-cycle checkpoints (Cyclins/CDKs; p21/p27) Cell-cycle arrest ↑ (G1/S or G2/M; reported); Cyclin D1/CDKs ↓ (context) ↔ G Cytostasis Often downstream of NF-κB/STAT3/PI3K signaling suppression.
6 Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial/caspase linked) Apoptosis ↑; Bax ↑; Bcl-2 ↓; caspases ↑ (reported) ↔ (generally less activation) G Cell death execution Common downstream endpoint; can be coupled to stress signaling and survival pathway suppression.
7 Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF / HIF-1α outputs) VEGF ↓; angiogenic outputs ↓ (reported) ↔ G Anti-angiogenic support Typically phenotype-level effects tied to NF-κB/PI3K/HIF programs.
8 Invasion / metastasis programs (MMPs / EMT) MMP2/MMP9 ↓; EMT markers ↓; migration/invasion ↓ (reported) ↔ G Anti-invasive phenotype Often downstream of NF-κB/STAT3 changes; not universal across all tumors.
9 ROS / redox modulation ROS direction variable; redox stress or buffering reported (context) Oxidative injury ↓ in some non-tumor stress models P, R, G Stress modulation UA is not a reliable “pro-oxidant killer”; redox effects depend on dose, model, and baseline oxidative state.
10 Bioavailability / formulation constraint Systemic exposure often limited (poor solubility) — — Translation constraint UA is highly lipophilic with poor aqueous solubility; many formulations (e.g., nanoparticles, phospholipid complexes) are explored to improve exposure.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (rapid signaling interactions)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (acute stress-response + transcription signaling shifts)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotype-level outcomes)
CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Cancer Stem Cells

Phytochemicals (natural plant-derived compounds) that may affect CSCs:
Curcumin
— suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Resveratrol
— shown to reduce CSC populations and sphere formation in multiple models.
Sulforaphane (from broccoli sprouts)
— reported to inhibit CSC properties and pathways; active in vitro and in vivo.
EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, green tea)
— reduces CSC markers and sphere formation in several cancer types.
Quercetin
— reported to inhibit CSC proliferation, self-renewal and invasiveness (breast, endometrial, others).
Berberine
— shown to suppress CSC “stemness” and reduce tumorigenic properties in multiple models.
Genistein (soy isoflavone)
— decreases CSC markers, sphere formation and stemness signaling in prostate/breast/other models.
Honokiol (Magnolia bark)
— shown to eliminate or suppress CSC-like populations in oral, colon, glioma models.
Luteolin
— inhibits stemness/EMT and reduces CSC markers and self-renewal in breast, prostate and other models.
Withaferin A (from Withania somnifera / ashwagandha)
— multiple preclinical reports show WA targets CSCs and reduces tumor growth/metastasis in models.

Circadian disruption in cancer and regulation of cancer stem cells by circadian clock genes: An updated review
Potential Role of the Circadian Clock in the Regulation of Cancer Stem Cells and Cancer Therapy
Can we utilise the circadian clock to target cancer stem cells?
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
5022- UA,    Ursolic Acid’s Alluring Journey: One Triterpenoid vs. Cancer Hallmarks
- Review, Var, NA
TumCP↓, Apoptosis↑, angioG↑, TumMeta↓, BioAv↓, Hif1a↓, Glycolysis↓, mitResp↓, Akt↓, MAPK↓, ERK↓, mTOR↓, P53↑, P21↑, E2Fs↑, STAT3↓, MMP↓, NLRP3↓, iNOS↓, CHK1↓, Chk2↓, BRCA1↓, E-cadherin↑, N-cadherin↓, Casp↑, p62↓, LC3II↑, Vim↓, ROS↑, CSCs↓, DNAdam↑, GutMicro↑, VEGF↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 1 of 1

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 1

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

mitResp↓, 1,   MMP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

Glycolysis↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Chk2↓, 1,   iNOS↓, 1,   MAPK↓, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↑, 1,   p62↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

BRCA1↓, 1,   CHK1↓, 1,   DNAdam↑, 1,   P53↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

E2Fs↑, 1,   P21↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CSCs↓, 1,   ERK↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

E-cadherin↑, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 1,   TumMeta↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↑, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Protein Aggregation ⓘ

NLRP3↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

BRCA1↓, 1,   GutMicro↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 34

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Total Targets: 0

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:164  Target#:795  State#:%  Dir#:1
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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