Ursolic acid / P53 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)
P53, P53-Guardian of the Genome: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: TCGA
Type: Proapototic
TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer. TP53 is a gene that encodes for the p53 tumor suppressor protein ; TP73 (Chr.1p36.33) and TP63 (Chr.3q28) genes that encode transcription factors p73 and p63, respectively, are TP53 homologous structures.
p53 is a crucial tumor suppressor protein that plays a significant role in regulating the cell cycle, maintaining genomic stability, and preventing tumor formation. It is often referred to as the "guardian of the genome" due to its role in protecting cells from DNA damage and stress.
TP53 gene, which encodes the p53 protein, is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers.
Overexpression of MDM2, an inhibitor of p53, can lead to decreased p53 activity even in the presence of wild-type p53.
In some cancers, particularly those with mutant p53, there may be an overexpression of the p53 protein.
Cancers with overexpression: Breast, lung, colorectal, overian, head and neck, Esophageal, bladder, pancreatic, and liver.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
15- CUR,  UA,    Effects of curcumin and ursolic acid in prostate cancer: A systematic review
- Review, Pca, NA
NF-kB↝, Akt↝, AR↝, Apoptosis↝, Bcl-2↝, Casp3↝, BAX↝, P21↝, ROS↝, Bcl-xL↝, JNK↝, MMP2↝, P53↝, PSA↝, VEGF↝, COX2↝, cycD1/CCND1↝, EGFR↝, IL6↝, β-catenin/ZEB1↝, mTOR↝, NRF2↝, AP-1↝, Cyt‑c↝, PI3K↝, PTEN↝, Cyc↝, TNF-α↝,
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↓,
5021- UA,    Anticancer effect of ursolic acid via mitochondria-dependent pathways
- Review, Var, NA
Inflam↓, TNF-α↓, IL6↓, IL17↓, NF-kB↓, COX2↓, *AntiDiabetic↑, *hepatoP↑, ALAT↓, AST↓, TumCP↓, Apoptosis↑, TumCCA↑, TumAuto↑, tumCV↓, TumCMig↓, Glycolysis↓, ATP↓, lactateProd↓, HK2↓, PKA↓, COX2↓, mtDam↑, Casp3↑, Casp8↑, Casp9↑, Akt↓, ROS↑, MMP↓, P53↑,
5017- UA,    Ursolic acid disturbs ROS homeostasis and regulates survival-associated gene expression to induce apoptosis in intestinal cancer cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, INT-407 - in-vitro, CRC, HCT116
AntiCan↑, TumCG↓, ROS↑, Apoptosis↑, TumCMig↓, CTNNB1↓, Twist↓, Bcl-2↓, survivin↓, NF-kB↓, Sp1/3/4↓, BAX↑, P21↑, P53↑, eff↓, TumCMig↓,
2411- UA,    Ursolic acid in health and disease
- Review, Var, NA
Inflam↓, antiOx↑, NF-kB↓, Bcl-xL↓, Bcl-2↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Ki-67↓, CD31↓, STAT3↓, EGFR↓, P53↑, P21↓, HK2↓, PKM2↓, ATP↓, lactateProd↓, p‑ERK↓, MMP↓, NO↑, ATM↑, Casp3↑, AMPK↑, JNK↑, FAO↑, FASN↓, *GSH↑, *SOD↑, *Catalase↑, *GPx↑, *GSTs↑, neuroP↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 5 of 5

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 5

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   NRF2↝, 1,   ROS↑, 3,   ROS↝, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

ATP↓, 2,   mitResp↓, 1,   MMP↓, 3,   mtDam↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AMPK↑, 1,   FAO↑, 1,   FASN↓, 1,   Glycolysis↓, 2,   HK2↓, 2,   lactateProd↓, 2,   PKM2↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   Akt↝, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 3,   Apoptosis↝, 1,   BAX↑, 1,   BAX↝, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Bcl-2↝, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Bcl-xL↝, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 2,   Casp3↝, 1,   Casp8↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,   Chk2↓, 1,   Cyt‑c↝, 1,   iNOS↓, 1,   JNK↑, 1,   JNK↝, 1,   MAPK↓, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

Sp1/3/4↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

tumCV↓, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↑, 1,   p62↓, 1,   TumAuto↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

ATM↑, 1,   BRCA1↓, 1,   CHK1↓, 1,   DNAdam↑, 1,   P53↑, 4,   P53↝, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

Cyc↝, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↝, 1,   E2Fs↑, 1,   P21↓, 1,   P21↑, 2,   P21↝, 1,   TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CSCs↓, 1,   CTNNB1↓, 1,   ERK↓, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   mTOR↝, 1,   PI3K↝, 1,   PTEN↝, 1,   STAT3↓, 2,   TumCG↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

AP-1↝, 1,   CD31↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 1,   Ki-67↓, 1,   MMP2↝, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   PKA↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 3,   TumCP↓, 2,   TumMeta↓, 1,   Twist↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↝, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↑, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   EGFR↝, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   NO↑, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,   VEGF↝, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 2,   COX2↝, 1,   IL17↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   IL6↝, 1,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 3,   NF-kB↝, 1,   PSA↝, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,   TNF-α↝, 1,  

Protein Aggregation ⓘ

NLRP3↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

AR↝, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   eff↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AR↝, 1,   AST↓, 1,   BRCA1↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   EGFR↝, 1,   GutMicro↑, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   IL6↝, 1,   Ki-67↓, 1,   PSA↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 115

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

Catalase↑, 1,   GPx↑, 1,   GSH↑, 1,   GSTs↑, 1,   SOD↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiDiabetic↑, 1,   hepatoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 7

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: P53, P53-Guardian of the Genome
5 Ursolic acid
1 Curcumin
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#:236  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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