Hedgehog/GLI-mediated transcriptional inhibitors from Zizyphus cambodiana

The aberrant hedgehog (Hh)/GLI signaling pathway causes the formation and progression of a variety of tumors. By screening tropical plant extracts by using our screening system, Zizyphus cambodiana was found to include Hh/GLI signaling inhibitors. Bioassay-guided fractionation of this plant extract led to the isolation of three active pentacyclic triterpenes, colubrinic acid (1), betulinic acid (2) and alphitolic acid (3), as potent inhibitors. The inhibition of GLI-related protein expression with 1 or 2 was observed in HaCaT cells with exogenous GLI1, or human pancreatic cancer cells (PANC1), which express Hh/GLI components aberrantly. The expressions of GLI-related proteins PTCH and BCL2 were clearly inhibited by 1 or 2. We also examined the cytotoxicity of these active compounds against PANC1, human prostate cancer cells (DU145) and mouse embryo fibroblast cells (C3H10T1/2). The cytotoxicity against cancer cells (PANC1 and DU145) by 1 or 2 would be caused by inhibition of the expression of the anti-apoptosis protein BCL2. These pentacyclic triterpene inhibitors showed an important relationship between Hh/GLI signaling inhibition, the decrease of BCL2, and cytotoxicity against cancer cells.