13-methyl Myristic Acid(13-MTD) is a saturated branched fatty acid purified from soybean fermentation products. 13-methyl Myristic Acid can induce apoptosis in various human cancer cells, including leukemia K562, breast cancer MCF7, prostate cancer DU145, lung small cell carcinoma NCI-H1688, pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC3, liver carcinoma SNU-423, gastric carcinoma NCI-SNU-1, and colon carcinoma HCT116. 13-methyl Myristic Acid has the potential to be a broad-spectrum, high-performance anti-tumor drug with low side effects[1].
In vitro, 13-methyl Myristic Acid treatment for 48h resulted in IC50 values of 25.74±3.50μg/mL, 31.29±2.27μg/mL, and 31.53±5.18μg/mL in T-NHL cell lines (Jurkat, Hut78, and EL4), respectively[2]. Treatment of human bladder cancer cells (T24, 5637, and UM-UC-3) with 13-methyl Myristic Acid (35–140μg/mL) inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, with reductions in cell viability ranging from 10% to 85% after 12h and from 25% to 97% after 24h. Treatment with 70μg/mL 13-methyl Myristic Acid induced apoptosis in bladder cancer cell lines in a time-dependent manner over 2-48h, characterized by decreased Bcl-2 expression, increased Bax expression, reduced AKT phosphorylation, and activation of p38 and JNK phosphorylation[1].
In vivo, treatment with 13-methyl Myristic Acid (70mg/kg/day) significantly inhibited tumor growth in BALB/C nude mice subcutaneously injected with Jurkat lymphoma cells after 30 days of treatment and in those injected with EL4 cells after 15 days[2].
References:
[1] Lin T, Yin X, Cai Q, et al. 13-Methyltetradecanoic acid induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in human bladder cancer cells. Urol Oncol. 2012;30(3):339-345.
[2] Cai Q, Huang H, Qian D, et al. 13-methyltetradecanoic acid exhibits anti-tumor activity on T-cell lymphomas in vitro and in vivo by down-regulating p-AKT and activating caspase-3. PLoS One. 2013;8(6):e65308.