Department of Pharmacology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2 Road, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
Apoptosis. 2012 Oct;17(10):1120-30. doi: 10.1007/s10495-012-0743-0.
Vinpocetine is a clinically used drug for cerebrovascular disorders as well as age-related memory impairment. Of note, vinpocetine has been recently identified as a novel anti-inflammatory agent; however, its effects on cancer cells remain to be investigated. In the present study, we found that vinpocetine potently inhibited proliferation of multiple types of human breast cancer cells by arresting cell cycle at G(0)/G(1) phase. It was also revealed that vinpocetine induced cell apoptosis via mitochondria-dependent pathway. Moreover, vinpocetine impaired the migration of the strongly metastatic cell MDA-MB-231. In xenograft model of human breast cancer in nude mice, both systemic and local administration of vinpocetine significantly suppressed the tumor growth without observed toxicity. Interestingly, vinpocetine markedly attenuated the activation of Akt and signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (STAT3), but had no effects on MAP kinases pathways. Collectively, the data suggest that vinpocetine possesses significant yet previously unknown antitumor properties that may be utilized for the treatment of breast cancer.
长春西汀是一种临床用于治疗脑血管疾病和与年龄相关的记忆障碍的药物。值得注意的是，长春西汀最近被鉴定为一种新型的抗炎药物；然而，其对癌细胞的影响仍有待研究。在本研究中，我们发现长春西汀通过将细胞周期阻滞在 G0/G1 期强烈抑制多种类型的人乳腺癌细胞的增殖。研究还表明，长春西汀通过线粒体依赖性途径诱导细胞凋亡。此外，长春西汀损伤了高度转移性细胞 MDA-MB-231 的迁移。在裸鼠人乳腺癌异种移植模型中，长春西汀的全身和局部给药均显著抑制肿瘤生长，而没有观察到毒性。有趣的是，长春西汀显著减弱 Akt 和信号转导和转录激活因子 3（STAT3）的激活，但对 MAP 激酶途径没有影响。总之，这些数据表明长春西汀具有显著但以前未知的抗肿瘤特性，可用于治疗乳腺癌。
