Betulinic acid

Betulinic acid is a pentacyclic triterpene which induces apoptosis and antiangiogenic responses in tumors derived from multiple tissues. Betulinic acid shows anti-HIV activity by blocking HIV replication in H9 lymphocytes with an EC50 value of 1.4 μM and inhibiting uninfected H9 cell growth with an IC50 value of 13 μM. In vivo, Betulinic acid inhibits prostate cancer cell and tumor (xenograft) growth in athymic nude mice bearing LNCaP cells and this is due, in part, to proteasome-dependent downregulation of Sp1, Sp3, Sp4 and several Sp-regulated genes.