J82 human bladder cell line treated with frankincense oil

Frankincense oil is prepared from aromatic hardened wood resin obtained by tapping Boswellia trees. For thousands of years, it has been important both socially and economically as an ingredient in incense and perfumes. Frankincense oil is a botanical oil distillate made from fermented plants that contains boswellic acid, a component known to have anti-neoplastic properties. We evaluated frankincense oil-induced cytotoxicity in bladder cancer cells. With a window of concentration, frankincense oil suppressed cell viability and induced cytotoxicity in bladder transitional carcinoma J82 cells but not normal bladder urothelial UROtsa cells immortalized with SV40 large T antigen. However, frankincense oil-induced J82 cell death did not result in DNA fragmentation. Microarray and bioinformatics analysis confirmed that frankincense oil activated cell cycle arrest, suppressed cell proliferation, and activated apoptosis in J82 cells through a series of potential pathways. These finding suggest that bladder cancer can be treated through intravesical administration of pharmaceutical agents similar to direct application on melanoma. 2E05 J82 cells were untreated or treated with a 1/1000 dilution of frankincense oil for 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 hours prior to RNA extraction.