Betulinic acid induces apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cell lines

Neuroblastoma has long been recognized to show spontaneous regression during fetal development and in the majority of stage 4s infants < 1 year of age with disseminated disease. Stage 4s disease regresses with no chemotherapy in 50% of the patients. The mechanism by which this occurs is not understood but may be programmed cell death or apoptosis. Betulinic acid (BA) has been reported to induce apoptosis in human melanoma with in vitro and in...