title: Xylitol inhibits in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis by suppressing the NF-κB and Akt signaling pathways.
abstract: Angiogenesis is an important process involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Many studies have investigated the use of natural compounds such as angiogenic inhibitors. Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar alcohol and is an artificial sweetener that has been used in chewing gums to prevent tooth decay. Xylitol has been also known to inhibit inflammatory cytokine expression induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Since angiogenesis and inflammation share a common signaling pathway, we investigated the role of xylitol in angiogenesis. Xylitol inhibited the migration, invasion and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Xylitol also inhibited in vivo angiogenesis in a mouse Matrigel plug assay. Furthermore, mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGFR-II (KDR), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), bFGFR-II, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 of HUVECs decreased following treatment with xylitol. These anti-angiogenic effects of xylitol are exerted through inhibition of NF-κB and Akt activation. Taken together, these results suggest that xylitol acts as a beneficial angiogenesis inhibitor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eui-Yeun
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Yung-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014993:Xylitol / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016328:NF-kappa B; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D014993:Xylitol