Ursolic Acid Inhibits the Proliferation of Gastric Cancer Cells by Targeting miR-133a

Ursolic acid (UA), a potential chemotherapeutic agent, has the properties of inhibition of the growth of many human cancer cell lines. Whether UA can inhibit the growth and metastasis of human gastric cancer cells remains unknown. In this study, it was found that UA inhibited the growth and metastasis of human gastric cancer cells in vitro. Our results showed the increase of the percent of apoptotic cells and G(1) phase, the inhibition of cell migrations well as the decrease of the expression of Bax, caspase 3 and Bcl-2 in BGC-823 cells after the treatment with UA. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that UA treatment upregulated the level of miR-133a in BGC-823 cells. Overexpression of miR-133a increased the G(1) phase of cell cycle and decreased Akt1 expression in BGC-823 cells. These outcomes might be secondary to the increased expression of miR-133a after the treatment with UA.