title: Livistona chinensis seeds inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma angiogenesis in vivo via suppression of the Notch pathway.
abstract: Livistona chinensis seeds have been used for centuries to clinically treat various types of cancer. Our published data suggest that Livistona chinensis seeds are able to inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth in vitro and in vivo via promotion of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms of its antitumor activity, in the present study, we used an HCC xenograft mouse model to evaluate the effect of an ethanol extract of Livistona chinensis seeds (EELC) on tumor angiogenesis and on the activation of the Notch pathway. Intratumoral microvessel density (MVD) in HCC xenograft mouse tumors was evaluated via immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for CD31. The mRNA and protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), VEGFR-2, Notch, Dll4 and Jagged1 was evaluated using RT-PCR and IHC, respectively. We found that EELC profoundly reduced MVD in the HCC mouse tumors, demonstrating the in vivo inhibitory effect of EELC on tumor angiogenesis. In addition, EELC treatment reduced the expression of VEGF-A and VEGFR-2 in tumor tissues. Furthermore, EELC treatment inhibited the expression of Notch, Dll4 and Jagged1. Our findings suggest that Livistona chinensis seeds inhibit tumor angiogenesis through suppression of the Notch pathway.
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jinyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qunchuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liangpu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenfeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Academy of Integrative Medicine Biomedical Research Center, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D028023:Arecaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism*; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000187:drug effects*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D010936:Plant Extracts; D051880:Receptors, Notch