title: The Monascus metabolite monacolin K reduces tumor progression and metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma cells.
abstract: Monascus -fermented red mold rice extract (RMRE) offers valuable therapeutic benefits and has been extensively used for centuries in East Asia. Monascus secondary polyketide metabolites, including monacolin K (MK) and ankaflavin (AK), have been reported to have antitumor-initiating effects on cancer progression. This paper reports that the oral administration of RMRE dramatically inhibited the metastatic ability of murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice caused by the decline of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels compared with untreated metastatic groups. MK is a key antimetastatic and antiangiogenesis compound in RMRE, as shown by down-regulation of VEGF-stimulated invasive activity in LLC cells by Matrigel-coating transwell and tube-forming assays and reverse transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Therefore, application of RMRE may serve as a nontoxic natural chemopreventive or antineoplastic agent in the development of cancer adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bing-Ying
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Tzu-Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018827:Carcinoma, Lewis Lung / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005285:Fermentation; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D032741:Monascus / Q000378:metabolism*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D008148:Lovastatin