• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3735-3742
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• 2013

Background: Cardamom (Elettaria cardamom), also known as "Queen of Spices", has been traditionally used as a culinary ingredient due to its pleasant aroma and taste. In addition to this role, studies on cardamom have demonstrated cancer chemopreventive potential in in vitro and in vivo systems. Nevertheless, the precise poly-pharmacological nature of naturally occurring chemo-preventive compounds in cardamom has still not been fully demystified. Methods:In this study, an effort has been made to identify the proapoptopic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and anti-angiogenic targets of Cardamom's bioactive principles (eucalyptol, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, d-limonene and geraniol) by employing a dual reverse virtual screening protocol. Experimentally proven target information of the bioactive principles was annotated from bioassay databases and compared with the virtually screened set of targets to evaluate the reliability of the computational identification. To study the molecular interaction pattern of the anti-tumor action, molecular docking simulation was performed with Auto Dock Pyrx. Interaction studies of binding pose of eucalyptol with Caspase 3 were conducted to obtain an insight into the interacting amino acids and their inter-molecular bondings. Results:A prioritized list of target proteins associated with multiple forms of cancer and ranked by their Fit Score (Pharm Mapper) and descending 3D score (Reverse Screen 3D) were obtained from the two independent inverse screening platforms. Molecular docking studies exploring the bioactive principle targeted action revealed that H- bonds and electrostatic interactions forms the chief contributing factor in inter-molecular interactions associated with anti-tumor activity. Eucalyptol binds to the Caspase 3 with a specific framework that is well-suited for nucleophilic attacks by polar residues inside the Caspase 3 catalytic site. Conclusion:This study revealed vital information about the poly-pharmacological anti-tumor mode-of-action of essential oils in cardamom. In addition, a probabilistic set of anti-tumor targets for cardamom was generated, which can be further confirmed by in vivo and in vitro experiments.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.91-100
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• 2016

Angiogenesis is essential for the pathophysiological processes of embryogenesis, tissue growth, diabetic retinopathy, psoriasis, wound healing, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, and tumor growth. Inhibition of angiogenesis represents an attractive therapeutic approach for the treatment of angiogenic diseases such as cancer. However, uncontrolled angiogenesis is also necessary for tumor development and metastasis. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, a critical factor in the induction of angiogenesis, cause robust and rapid changes in blood vessels of tumors and therefore VEGF constitutes a target for such anti-angiogenic therapy. Recently, since natural compounds pose significantly less risk of deleterious side effects than synthetic compounds, a great many natural resources have been assessed for useful substance for anti-angiogenic treatment. Here we evaluated the anti-angiogenic effects of a hot water extract of Scutellaria baicalensis (SBHWE) using in vitro assays and ex vivo animal experiments. Our results show that SBHWE dose-dependently abrogated vascular endothelial responses by inhibiting VEGF-stimulated migration and invasion as well as tube formation in a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) model, without cytotoxicity, as determined by a cell viability assay. Further study revealed that SBHWE prevented VEGF-induced neo-vascularization in a rat aortic ring sprouting model. Taken together, our findings reveal an anti-angiogenic activity of Scutellaria baicalensis and suggest that SBHWE is a novel candidate inhibitor of VEGF-induced angiogenesis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.456-465
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• 2023

Cervical tumors represent a prevalent form of cancer affecting women worldwide; current treatment options involve surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation, is a crucial factor in cervical tumor growth. The molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of the liver kinase B1 (LKB1/STK11) tumor suppressor protein on tumor angiogenesis have not been elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the role of LKB1 in cervical tumor angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo in this study. Our results demonstrated that LKB1 inhibited cervical tumor angiogenesis by suppressing the expression of angiogenesis-related factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α. LKB1 directly affected both carcinoma and vascular endothelial cells, resulting in a significant reduction in tumor growth and angiogenesis. Furthermore, LKB1 was found to bind to VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and target the VEGFR-2-mediated protein kinase B/mechanistic target of rapamycin signaling pathway in endothelial cells, thereby reducing cervical tumor growth and angiogenesis. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effects of LKB1 in cervical cancer. These findings will help develop new therapeutic strategies for cervical cancer.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.78.3-79
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• 2003

Dongchunghacho (Dong-Chong-Xia-Cho in Chinese) is one of entomogenous fungi that grow as parasites mainly to pupae or larvae. It includes many different genera such as Cordyceps, Paecilomyces, Torrubiella and Podonectria. The ethanolic extract of Cordyceps scarabaeicola, prepared from its fruiting bodies, showed significant inhibitory activity on angiogensis, which was detected by chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The ethanolic extract of media-cultured Paecilomyces japonica also showed significant anti-angiogenic activity in CAM assay. (omitted)

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.75-93
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• 2006

Jiaweicitaowan (JWCTW) has been used to inhibit recurrence and metastasis of cancer in clinical practice. Further study has shown its anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic effects. By applying in vitro and in vivo anti-angiogenic evaluation model, the author assayed the each ingredients of JWCTW. The author performed the following experiments and the results are listed as below: Cell viability assay showed that the viability was almost identical between that of the control and that of the ingredients extract 40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$ treated, except of hexane fraction of Curcumae Radix (40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 2.0% of control), ethylacetate fraction (40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 26.7%), butanol fraction (20 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 87.2%; 40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 12.5%) of Cremastrae appendiculatae Tuber, water fraction of Persicae Semen (40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 82.7%), ethylacetate fraction of Hippocampus (40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$, 85.3%). The results of gelatin zymogram assay showed that the ingredients of JWCTW decreases the gelatinolytic activity of MMP-9 from ECV304, at the concentration of 10 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$. In in vitro invasion assay, the ingredients of JWCTW effectively inhibited the invasion of cancer cells as compared with the control (+PMA) groups. In capillary-like tube formation assay, the hexane and ethylacetate fractions of Curcumae Radix, Cremastrae appendiculatae Tuber and Persicae Semen showed the dramatic inhibition effects on tube formation of ECV304 at the concentration of 40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$. In ex vivo rat aortic ring assay, the hexane and ethylacetate fractions of Curcumae Radix, Cremastrae appendiculatae Tuber and Persicae Semen showed the inhibition effects on angiogenesis of rat aorta at the concentration of 40 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$. According to the above research, the anti-angiogenic effects of the ingredients of JWCTW was proved and it suggested that the more effective prescription for anti angiogenesis could be developed.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.532-537
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• 1993

Angiogenesis refers to the formation of new capillary blood vessels, or neovascularization occurring under various physical conditions, such as development of the embryo, formation of corpus luteum, wound healing and pathological conditions including tumor growth and metastases, hemangiomas, diabetic retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis. There are many evidences that angiogenesis is important for the progressive growth of solid tumors and also permits the shedding of metastatic tumors from the primary site. Thus, treatment of angiogenesis inhibitors might be a novel strategy for tumor growth inhibition. Normal vascular endothelial cells are in a state of differentiation and angiogenic endothelial cells migrate and proliferate, and they subsequently differentiate into vessel-forming quiescent phenotype cells, Therfore, it was speculated that a modifier of cell differentiation could also affect angiogenesis. In order to identify new antiangiogenic factors, the research was conducted to estimate the inhibitory activities of cell differentiation agents by means of chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane(CAM) assay. Hence, we have established the CAM assay for the screening of antiangiogenic agents. Using the CAM assay, we found that ursolic acid, a tumor cell differentiation-inducing agent, showed a markedly inhibitory effect on chick embryonic angiogenesis.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.539-544
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• 1997

Anti-metastatic activities of IH901, an intestinal bacterial metabolic derivative formed from Ginseng protopanaxadiol saponins, was determined in vitro and in vivo. Under in vitro conditions, IH901 inhibited the migration of bovine aortic endothelial cells 25 times stronger than suramin and suppressed the invasion of HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells into reconstituted basement membrane components of Matrigel 1000 times stronger than RGDS peptide. IH901 also showed inhibitory effect on type-IV collagenase secretion from HT 1080 cells and platelet aggregation. When the anti-metastatic activity of IH901 was evaluated in comparison with that of 5-FU using a spontaneous lung metastatic model of Lewis lung carcinoma, the administration of IH901 (10 mg/kg p. o.) to tumor-bearing mice led to a significant decrease in lung metastasis (43% of untreated control), which was slightly more effective than that obtained with 5-FU (56% of control). Thus, IH901 seems to exhibit its anti-metastatic activity partly through the inhibition of tumor invasion which results from the blockade of type IV collagenase secretion and also through anti-platelet and anti-angiogenic activities.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2022

Sparassis crispa is an edible mushroom that has been widely utilized in Japan and Korea. It has various biological activities, such as anti-hypertensive, anti-allergic, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anti-cancer effects. In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity and underlying molecular mechanism of chloroform fraction of methanol extract of S. crispa (CESP) against cervical cancer stem cells (CSCs), which contribute to tumor initiation, recurrence, and resistance to therapy of human cervical cancer. CESP effectively inhibited the proliferation, tumorsphere formation, and migration of HeLa-derived cervical CSCs by promoting apoptosis. In addition, CESP significantly downregulated the expression of key cancer stemness markers, including integrin α6, CD133, CD44, ALDH1A1, Nanog, Oct-4, and Sox-2, in HeLa-derived cervical CSCs. Furthermore, CESP remarkably suppressed in vivo tumor growth of HeLa-derived cervical CSCs in a chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. Therefore, our findings suggest that CESP has potential as a natural medicine for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer by targeting CSCs.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.209-220
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• 2014

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key factor involved in the induction of angiogenesis and has become an attractive target for anti-angiogenesis therapies. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the anti-angiogenic activity of Rubus coreanus Miquel water extract (RCME). Rubus coreanus Miquel has long been employed as a traditional medicine, and recent studies have demonstrated that it has measureable biological activities. Thus, we investigated for the first time the effect of RCME on angiogenesis and its underlying signaling pathways. The effects of RCME were tested on in vitro models of angiogenesis, namely, proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells as well as an ex vivo model of vessel sprouting from the rat aorta in response to VEGF. We observed that VEGF-induced angiogenesis was strongly suppressed by RCME treatment compared to that of the control group. Moreover, we found that RCME inhibited VEGF-induced activation of matrix metalloproteinases and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38, and also effectively inhibited phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2. These results indicated that RCME inhibits angiogenesis by suppressing phosphorylation of the VEGF receptor and may be useful for the treatment of angiogenesis-dependent diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.221-229
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• 2015

Hesperidin has been shown to possess a potential inhibitory effect on vascular formation in endothelial cells. However, the fundamental mechanism for the anti-angiogenic activity of hesperidin is not fully understood. In the present study, we evaluated whether hesperidin has anti-angiogenic effects in mouse embryonic stem cell (mES)-derived endothelial-like cells, and human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), and evaluated their mechanism via the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. The endothelial cells were treated with several doses of hesperidin (12.5, 25, 50, and $100{\mu}M$) for 24 h. Cell viability and vascular formation were analyzed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and tube formation assay, respectively. Alteration of the AKT/mTOR signaling in vascular formation was analyzed by western blot. In addition, a mouse aortic ring assay was used to determine the effect of hesperidin on vascular formation. There were no differences between the viability of mES-derived endothelial-like cells and HUVECs after hesperidin treatment. However, hesperidin significantly inhibited cell migration and tube formation of HUVECs (P<0.05) and suppressed sprouting of microvessels in the mouse aortic ring assay. Moreover, hesperidin suppressed the expression of AKT and mTOR in HUVECs. Taken together, these findings suggest that hesperidin inhibits vascular formation by blocking the AKT/mTOR signaling pathways.