Inhibitory role of oleanolic acid and esculetin in HeLa cells involve multiple signaling pathways

The global burden of cervical cancer from low and middle-income groups is increasing at alarming rates with more than half a million women being diagnosed every year. Although the disease is largely preventable when screened and diagnosed in earlier stages, the development of resistance and relapse had resulted in a poor prognosis. Therefore, a comprehensive approach needs to be put forward to understand and develop new preventive and therapeutic strategies to effectively combat cancer. Recently, much attention has been diverted to plant-derivatives for the treatment as they exhibit potent anti-cancer properties and side-effects caused by chemotherapeutic agents can also be prevented. Oleanolic acid and Esculetin are natural compounds known for their anti-cancer properties. Hence, the present study investigates the effect and mechanism of these compounds on cervical carcinoma, using HeLa cells. Posttreatment, it was observed that these compounds inhibited proliferation by both arresting the cells in the sub G1 phase and inducing senescence. Also, a marked reduction in the migration and cell survival was observed, as evidenced by results obtained from wound healing assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Furthermore, studies on the expression pattern of genes involved in major signaling pathways demonstrated a profound effect of these compounds. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that both Oleanolic acid and esculetin serve as a plausible therapeutic agent.