{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]],"date-time":"2026-03-25T21:04:15Z","timestamp":1774472655221,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,8]],"date-time":"2020-08-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1596844800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/50011\/2020 & UIDP\/50011\/2020; UIDP\/50017\/2020 & UIDB\/50017\/2020; IUIDB\/05183\/2020; SFRH\/BD\/98635\/2013; CEECIND\/04050\/2017; CEECIND\/02387\/2018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/50011\/2020 & UIDP\/50011\/2020; UIDP\/50017\/2020 & UIDB\/50017\/2020; IUIDB\/05183\/2020; SFRH\/BD\/98635\/2013; CEECIND\/04050\/2017; CEECIND\/02387\/2018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PTDC\/AGR-FOR\/3187\/2012; Infrastructure Project N\u00ba 022161"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/AGR-FOR\/3187\/2012; Infrastructure Project N\u00ba 022161"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008530","name":"European Regional Development Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PTDC\/AGR-FOR\/3187\/2012; Infrastructure Project N\u00ba 022161"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/AGR-FOR\/3187\/2012; Infrastructure Project N\u00ba 022161"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008530","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomolecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Plant-derived pentacyclic triterpenic acids (TAs) have gained increasing attention due to their multiple biological activities. Betulinic acid (BA) and ursolic acid (UA) modulate diverse pathways in carcinogenesis, offering increased changes of success in refractory cancers, such as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The present work aimed to assess the metabolic effects of BA and UA in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (TNBC model), as well as in MCF-10A non-cancer breast epithelial cells, with a view to unveiling the involvement of metabolic reprogramming in cellular responses to these TAs. Cell viability and cell cycle analyses were followed by assessment of changes in the cells exo- and endometabolome through 1H NMR analysis of cell culture medium supernatants, aqueous and organic cell extracts. In MDA-MB-231 cells, BA was suggested to induce a transient upregulation of glucose consumption and glycolytic conversion, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intensification, and hydrolysis of neutral lipids, while UA effects were much less pronounced. In MCF-10A cells, boosting of glucose metabolism by the two TAs was accompanied by diversion of glycolytic intermediates to the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) and the synthesis of neutral lipids, possibly stored in detoxifying lipid droplets. Additionally, breast epithelial cells intensified pyruvate consumption and TCA cycle activity, possibly to compensate for oxidative impairment of pyruvate glycolytic production. This study provided novel insights into the metabolic effects of BA and UA in cancer and non-cancer breast cells, thus improving current understanding of the action of these compounds at the molecular level.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biom10081163","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,10]],"date-time":"2020-08-10T07:25:03Z","timestamp":1597044303000},"page":"1163","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Breast Epithelial Cells Differentially Reprogram Glucose and Lipid Metabolism upon Treatment with Triterpenic Acids"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"\u00c2ngela R.","family":"Guerra","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"},{"name":"Centro de Biotecnologia Agr\u00edcola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo (CEBAL)\/Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja (IPBeja), Apartado 6158, 7801-908 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana F.","family":"Paulino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Biotecnologia Agr\u00edcola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo (CEBAL)\/Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja (IPBeja), Apartado 6158, 7801-908 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5016-2567","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria M.","family":"Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Biotecnologia Agr\u00edcola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo (CEBAL)\/Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja (IPBeja), Apartado 6158, 7801-908 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Helena","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology &amp; CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2223-7784","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria F.","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Biotecnologia Agr\u00edcola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo (CEBAL)\/Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Beja (IPBeja), Apartado 6158, 7801-908 Beja, Portugal"},{"name":"MED\u2014Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, CEBAL, 7801-908 Beja, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4289-9256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iola F.","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1007\/s00404-015-3859-y","article-title":"An overview of triple-negative breast cancer","volume":"293","author":"Kumar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Arch. 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