biostudies-literatureWang SNatural Science Foundation of Shandong ProvinceJining Medical UniversityChina Postdoctoral Science FoundationNational Natural Science Foundation of Chinae23833https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10797151biostudies-literatureUnknown10(1)Betulinic acid (BA) is a pentacyclic triterpene found in many plant species and has a broad-spectrum anti-tumor effect in various cancers, including colon cancer (CRC). However, its anticancer mechanism in CRC is no clear. RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis showed BA up-regulated 378 genes and down-regulated 137 genes in HT29 cells, while 2303 up-regulated and 1041 down-regulated genes were found in SW480 cells. KEGG enrichment analysis showed BA significantly stimulated the expression of metallothionein 1 (MT1) family genes in both HT29 and SW480 cells. Metallothionein 1G (MT1G) was the gene with the highest upregulation of MT1 family genes induced by BA dose-dependently. High MT1G expression enhanced the sensitivity of CRC cells to BA, whereas, MT1G knockdown had the opposite effHeliyonBetulinic acid arrests cell cycle at G2/M phase by up-regulating metallothionein 1G inhibiting proliferation of colon cancer cells.PMC107971512020-BS006ZR2020YQ59JYHL2019FMS052022M72133982102798,82173371,82273447,82273069,82372679ZR2019BH050Yang XWang SZhang YBie QZhang BWang KfalseBetulinic acid arrests cell cycle at G2/M phase by up-regulating metallothionein 1G inhibiting proliferation of colon cancer cells.Betulinic acid (BA) is a pentacyclic triterpene found in many plant species and has a broad-spectrum anti-tumor effect in various cancers, including colon cancer (CRC). However, its anticancer mechanism in CRC is no clear. RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis showed BA up-regulated 378 genes and down-regulated 137 genes in HT29 cells, while 2303 up-regulated and 1041 down-regulated genes were found in SW480 cells. KEGG enrichment analysis showed BA significantly stimulated the expression of metallothionein 1 (MT1) family genes in both HT29 and SW480 cells. Metallothionein 1G (MT1G) was the gene with the highest upregulation of MT1 family genes induced by BA dose-dependently. High MT1G expression enhanced the sensitivity of CRC cells to BA, whereas, MT1G knockdown had the opposite eff2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Jan2026-07-15T04:43:30.419Z2025-04-04T10:38:28.502ZS-EPMC107971513826192210.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23833