Tehran University of Medical Sciences Basic & Clinical Cancer Research 2228-6527 13 3 2022 08 31 225 234 Tohid Moradi Gardeshi Department of Veterinary Sciences, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, iran. Rahil Norbakhsh Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Soheila Khaksari Genetics Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Zahra Boroughani Department of Microbial Biotechnology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 2021 05 29 2022 08 13 Background: Apoptosis induction is one of the effective mechanisms in cancer therapy. So far, a variety of natural sources have been identified for inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. This study proposed identifying promising active drug pharmacophores of soil actinomycetes with the capability of apoptosis induction in A549 cells, a human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line. Methods: The crude extract of Nocardia carnea UTMC 863 was obtained from UTBC (University of Tehran Biocompound Collection). After 48 hours of exposure, cell viability, gene expression, and apoptosis rate were determined using MTT, quantitative real-time-PCR, and flow cytometry. Results: The MTT assay exhibited that the effective concentrations of UTMC863 and doxorubicin (positive control) were 24 µg/ml and 1 µM, respectively. UTMC 863 with the concentration of 24 µg/ml as well as doxorubicin could induce apoptosis in A549 cell line. Also, the expression of apoptosis-related genes was increased in the UTMC863 group compared to the untreated group (p<0.01). Conclusion: The crude extract of Nocardia carnea UTMC 863 can induce apoptosis in A549 cells, and it may be one of the promising pharmacophores for cancer therapy. https://bccr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/bccrj/article/view/390