Journal of Functional Foods (Jan 2019)

Plumbagin suppresses endothelial progenitor cell-related angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo

  • Hsiang-Ping Lee,
  • Po-Chun Chen,
  • Shih-Wei Wang,
  • Yi-Chin Fong,
  • Chang-Hai Tsai,
  • Fuu-Jen Tsai,
  • Jing-Gung Chung,
  • Chih-Yang Huang,
  • Jai-Sing Yang,
  • Yuan-Man Hsu,
  • Te-Mao Li,
  • Chih-Hsin Tang

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 52
pp. 537 – 544

Abstract

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Plumbagin, a naturally occurring naphthoquinone component isolated from the root of Plumbago zeylanica, reduces angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells; whether plumbagin also has anti-angiogenic activity in human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) has remained unclear. Importantly, the recruitment of bone marrow-derived EPCs promotes physiological and pathological neovascularization. In this study, plumbagin inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced migration and tube formation of human EPCs, without cytotoxic effects. We also found that plumbagin inhibited angiogenesis via the phospholipase C (PLC), Akt, extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), nuclear factor (NF)-κB and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 signaling pathways. In an EPC Matrigel plug assay, plumbagin significantly diminished microvessel formation and EPC-specific marker expression. Our report is the first to reveal that plumbagin reduces EPC-related angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. Further evaluations of plumbagin are warranted, to determine its antitumor activity and other angiogenesis-related disorders.

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