TY - JOUR T1 - Maslinic Acid Induces DNA Damage and Impairs DNA Repair in Human Cervical Cancer HeLa Cells JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 6869 LP - 6877 DO - 10.21873/anticanres.14709 VL - 40 IS - 12 AU - KUNG-WEN LU AU - MEI-DUE YANG AU - SHU-FEN PENG AU - JAW-CHYUN CHEN AU - PO-YUAN CHEN AU - HUNG-YI CHEN AU - TAI-JUNG LU AU - FU-SHIN CHUEH AU - JIN-CHERNG LIEN AU - KUANG-CHI LAI AU - KUO-CHING LIU AU - YIN-YING TAI Y1 - 2020/12/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/12/6869.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: Maslinic acid, a natural plant-derived triterpenoid compound, exhibits pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of maslinic acid on human cervical cancer HeLa cells in vitro and further investigated the molecular mechanism of maslinic acid-induced DNA damage and repair. Materials and Methods: Cell viability was measured by flow cytometry. DNA condensation (apoptotic cell death), DNA damage, and DNA fragmentation (DNA ladder) were assayed by DAPI staining, comet assay, and agarose gel electrophoresis, respectively. The expression of DNA damage and repair proteins was assayed by western blotting. Results: Maslinic acid decreased total cell viability and induced DNA condensation, damage, and fragmentation in HeLa cells. Furthermore, maslinic acid elevated the levels of p-ATMSer1981, p-ATRSer428, p53, p-p53Ser151, p-H2A.XSer139, BRCA1 and PARP at 30-40 μM. However, it decreased the levels of DNA-PK and MGMT. Conclusion: Maslinic acid reduced the number of viable HeLa cells by inducing DNA damage and altering the expression of proteins involved in DNA damage and repair. ER -