Gambogic acid inhibits angiogenesis and prostate tumor growth by suppressing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 signaling.
Gambogic acid (GA), the main active compound of Gamboge hanburyi, has been previously reported to activate apoptosis in many types of cancer cell lines by targeting transferrin receptor and modulating nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathway. Whether GA inhibits angiogenesis, which is crucial for cancer and other human diseases, remains unknown. Here, we found that GA significantly inhibited human umbilical vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation, migration, invasion, tube formation, and microvessel growth at nanomolar concentration. In a xenograft prostate tumor model, we found that GA effectively inhibited tumor angiogenesis and suppressed tumor growth with low side effects using metronomic chemotherapy with GA. GA was more effective in activating apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation and migration in HUVECs than in human prostate cancer cells (PC3), suggesting GA might be a potential drug candidate in cancer therapy through angioprevention with low chemotoxicity. Furthermore, we showed that GA inhibited the activations of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 and its downstream protein kinases, such as c-Src, focal adhesion kinase, and AKT. Together, these data suggest that GA inhibits angiogenesis and may be a viable drug candidate in antiangiogenesis and anticancer therapies.
Yi
Tingfang
T
Center for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Institute for Bioscience and Technology, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Yi
Zhengfang
Z
Cho
Sung-Gook
SG
Luo
Jian
J
Pandey
Manoj K
MK
Aggarwal
Bharat B
BB
Liu
Mingyao
M
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D044004:Xanthones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
D044004:Xanthones; C052659:gambogic acid; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2