Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2011 Mar 25;406(4):638-42. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2011.02.111. Epub 2011 Mar 6.
Quercetin, a flavonoid abundantly present in fruit, vegetables, wine and tea, has revealed several properties such as antioxidant, antiproliferative and anticancer. Cachexia is a poorly understood syndrome present in already compromised cancer patients, decreasing the quality of life and increasing mortality. Many studies have been performed in an attempt to discover an effective treatment for cachexia, but none of the tested therapies has fulfilled expectations. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of quercetin in the therapeutic treatment of cachexia and reversion of tumor growth in rats bearing Walker 256 carcinosarcoma (W256). Rats bearing W256 were treated daily with I.P. quercetin injections, at different doses (10, 15, 25 and 35 mg/kg). The results show that 10 mg/kg quercetin inhibited tumor growth by about 50% (ED(50)) when compared with controls (CTR). Moreover, two animals of this group presented complete tumor regression. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression decreased in rats bearing W256 treated with 10 mg/kg quercetin when compared with CTR. Thus, the inhibition of tumor growth, survival increase, decrease of MMP-2 and VEGF levels and reduction of cachexia in animals treated with quercetin strongly support the anticancer function of this flavonoid.
槲皮素是一种广泛存在于水果、蔬菜、葡萄酒和茶中的类黄酮，具有抗氧化、抗增殖和抗癌等多种特性。恶病质是一种在已经受损的癌症患者中出现的了解甚少的综合征，降低了生活质量并增加了死亡率。许多研究试图发现恶病质的有效治疗方法，但没有一种经过测试的疗法达到预期效果。本研究的目的是分析槲皮素在治疗恶病质和逆转荷 Walker 256 癌肉瘤（W256）大鼠肿瘤生长中的作用。荷 W256 的大鼠每天通过腹腔注射不同剂量（10、15、25 和 35mg/kg）的槲皮素进行治疗。结果表明，与对照组（CTR）相比，10mg/kg 的槲皮素抑制肿瘤生长约 50%（ED（50））。此外，该组的两只动物表现出完全的肿瘤消退。与 CTR 相比，荷 W256 大鼠用 10mg/kg 槲皮素治疗后，基质金属蛋白酶-2（MMP-2）活性和血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）表达降低。因此，槲皮素治疗的动物的肿瘤生长抑制、存活率增加、MMP-2 和 VEGF 水平降低以及恶病质减少，强烈支持这种类黄酮的抗癌功能。
