Department of Biofunctional Evaluation, Molecular Pharmacology, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 5-6-1 Mitahora-higashi, Gifu 502-8585, Japan.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2009 Nov 17;9:45. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-9-45.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of pathogenic angiogenesis in diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy. Bee products [royal jelly (RJ), bee pollen, and Chinese red propolis] from the honeybee, Apis mellifera, have been used as traditional health foods for centuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-angiogenic effects of bee products using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).
In an in vitro tube formation assay, HUVECs and fibroblast cells were incubated for 14 days with VEGF and various concentrations of bee products [RJ, ethanol extract of bee pollen, ethanol extract of Chinese red propolis and its constituent, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE)]. To clarify the mechanism of in vitro angiogenesis, HUVEC proliferation and migration were induced by VEGF with or without various concentrations of RJ, bee pollen, Chinese red propolis, and CAPE.
RJ, bee pollen, Chinese red propolis, and CAPE significantly suppressed VEGF-induced in vitro tube formation in the descending order: CAPE > Chinese red propolis >> bee pollen > RJ. RJ and Chinese red propolis suppressed both VEGF-induced HUVEC proliferation and migration. In contrast, bee pollen and CAPE suppressed only the proliferation.
Among the bee products, Chinese red propolis and CAPE in particular showed strong suppressive effects against VEGF-induced angiogenesis. These findings indicate that Chinese red propolis and CAPE may have potential as preventive and therapeutic agents against angiogenesis-related human diseases.
血管内皮生长因子 (VEGF) 是癌症和糖尿病视网膜病变等疾病中病理性血管生成的关键调节因子。蜜蜂产品（蜂王浆、蜂花粉和中国红蜂胶）已作为传统保健品使用了数个世纪。本研究旨在使用人脐静脉内皮细胞 (HUVEC) 研究蜜蜂产品的抗血管生成作用。
在体外管形成试验中，将 HUVEC 和成纤维细胞与 VEGF 和不同浓度的蜜蜂产品（蜂王浆、蜂花粉的乙醇提取物、中国红蜂胶的乙醇提取物及其成分咖啡酸苯乙酯 (CAPE)）孵育 14 天。为了阐明体外血管生成的机制，用 VEGF 诱导 HUVEC 增殖和迁移，并加入不同浓度的 RJ、蜂花粉、中国红蜂胶和 CAPE。
RJ、蜂花粉、中国红蜂胶和 CAPE 均能显著抑制 VEGF 诱导的体外管形成，抑制作用依次递减：CAPE > 中国红蜂胶 > 蜂花粉 > RJ。RJ 和中国红蜂胶均能抑制 VEGF 诱导的 HUVEC 增殖和迁移。相比之下，蜂花粉和 CAPE 仅抑制增殖。
在这些蜜蜂产品中，中国红蜂胶和 CAPE 对 VEGF 诱导的血管生成具有较强的抑制作用。这些发现表明，中国红蜂胶和 CAPE 可能具有作为预防和治疗与血管生成相关的人类疾病的潜力。
