Ursolic acid promotes apoptosis of SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells through ROCK/PTEN mediated mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1

Ursolic acid, extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine bearberry, can induce Apoptosis of gastric Cancer cells. However, its pro-apoptotic mechanism still needs further investigation. More and more evidence demonstrates that mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1 appears necessary for the regulation of Apoptosis. Here, we report that ursolic acid (UA) potently induces the Apoptosis of gastric Cancer SGC-7901 cells. Further mechanistic studies revealed that the ROCK1/PTEN signaling pathway plays a critical role in UA-mediated mitochondrial translocation of cofilin-1 and Apoptosis. These findings imply that induction of Apoptosis by ursolic acid stems primarily from the activation of ROCK1 and PTEN, resulting in the translocation of cofilin-1 from cytoplasm to mitochondria, release of cytochrome c, activation of Caspase-3 and caspase-9, and finally inducing Apoptosis of gastric Cancer SGC-7901 cells.