Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom.
School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom.
Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 4;7(1):12651. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12855-w.
Angiogenesis plays an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the inhibition of which is explored for cancer prevention and treatment. The dietary phytochemical sulforaphane (SFN) is known for its anti-cancer properties in vitro and in vivo; but until now, no study has focused on the role of SFN in HCC tumor angiogenesis. In the present study, in vitro cell models using a HCC cell line, HepG2, and human endothelial cells, HUVECs, as well as ex vivo and in vivo models have been used to investigate the anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effect of SFN. The results showed that SFN decreased HUVEC cell viability, migration and tube formation, all of which are important steps in angiogenesis. More importantly, SFN markedly supressed HepG2-stimulated HUVEC migration, adhesion and tube formation; which may be due to its inhibition on STAT3/HIF-1α/VEGF signalling in HepG2 cells. In addition, SFN significantly reduced HepG2 tumor growth in a modified chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, associated with a decrease of HIF-1α and VEGF expression within tumors. Collectively, these findings provide new insights into the inhibitory effect of SFN on HCC tumor angiogenesis as well as tumor growth, and indicate that SFN has potential for the prevention and treatment of HCC.
血管生成在肝细胞癌 (HCC) 中起着重要作用,抑制血管生成被探索用于癌症的预防和治疗。膳食植物化学物萝卜硫素 (SFN) 已被证明具有体外和体内的抗癌特性;但到目前为止,还没有研究关注 SFN 在 HCC 肿瘤血管生成中的作用。在本研究中,使用 HCC 细胞系 HepG2 和人内皮细胞 HUVEC 的体外细胞模型以及离体和体内模型,研究了 SFN 的抗肿瘤和抗血管生成作用。结果表明,SFN 降低了 HUVEC 细胞活力、迁移和管形成,这些都是血管生成的重要步骤。更重要的是,SFN 显著抑制了 HepG2 刺激的 HUVEC 迁移、黏附和管形成;这可能是由于它抑制了 HepG2 细胞中的 STAT3/HIF-1α/VEGF 信号通路。此外,SFN 显著减少了改良鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜 (CAM) 测定中的 HepG2 肿瘤生长,与肿瘤内 HIF-1α 和 VEGF 表达的减少有关。总之,这些发现为 SFN 抑制 HCC 肿瘤血管生成和肿瘤生长提供了新的见解,并表明 SFN 具有预防和治疗 HCC 的潜力。