Study of the mechanisms and causes related to angiogenesis

Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessels formation from existing ones, is important for the normal body growth and development. Angiogenesis is dependent on a delicate equilibrium between endogenous angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors. If this equilibrium is disturbed, different diseases such as corneal neovascularization, endometriosis, obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, psoriasis, tumor growth and metastasis may ensue. In general, angiogenesis process is under the influence of several factors and consists of cellular events such as migration, proliferation and differentiation of endothelial cells and finally formation, maturation and remodeling of vessels. Hence, angiogenesis inhibition as a useful measure in conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation has attracted scientists' attention studying on these issues. In recent years, the angiogenesis control has been considered as a novel idea for control and treatment of angiogenesis-dependent disorders especially tumor growth and metastasis. Because of its importance in causing these disorders, we discuss various aspects of angiogenesis, its mechanisms and causes and also the related studies in this review article

Anti tumor activity of salvia officinalis is due to its anti-angiogenic, anti-migratory and anti-proliferative effects

The significant factor contributing to the distant invasion of cancer cells is the ability of tumors to produce large numbers of new blood vessels, known as angiogenesis. Many natural products inhibit angiogenesis. Herein, ethanol extract of Salvia officinalis [SO] has been analyzed for its anti-angiogenic, anti-proliferation and anti-migration activities. The anti-angiogenic effect of the SO extract was evaluated on chicken chorioallantoic membrane [CAM] neovascularisation model, microscopically. The inhibitory effect of the extract on human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs] migration was tested on the wound-healing model with an inverted microscope. In addition, SO extract was screened for its possible anti-proliferative effects by separately counting HUVECs, Wehi and K562 cells with cell counter against their control wells, So extract exhibited a significant inhibitory activity in CAM assay in a dose dependent manner. CAM angiogenesis was gradually prevented to from at 100 micro g/ml of SO extract, but completely inhibited to form at 200 micro g/ml. After human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs] were suppressed by dose-dependent SO extract, their migrations were detected by wound healing model, yet they were unable to show a dose response effect on proliferation of the different cells [50-200 micro g/ml]. As observing in this study, SOextract could inhibit proliferation of the different cells at the concentrations above 200 micro g/ml without toxic effect on the cells in doses ranged from 0-500 micro g/ml. These findings indicated that SO extract might be a promising candidate for anti-angiogenic treatment

Anti-angiogenic activity of ficus carica latex extract on human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is a key process in cancer development and metastasis. In this study, the anti-angiogenic and anti-proiiferative potentials of Ficus carica latex extract have been investigated using human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs]. Different doses of latex extract were prepared and added to a three-dimensional culture of HUVEC in a collagen matrix. After 3-5 days of treatment, the anti-angiogenic effects of the extracts were monitored microscopically. For the anti-proliferation assay, different doses of the extracts were examined on HUVECs. The results clearly indicated that latex extract could inhibit proliferation and capillary tube formation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner at the range of 100-400 micro g/ml. In addition, the extract was not cytotoxic up to 450 micro g/ml as assessed by trypan blue and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] cytotoxicity assays. It is concluded that latex extracts of F. carica contain strong anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative activities. Our data indicates that latex extract could be a candidate as a potential agent for the prevention of angiogenesis in cancer and other chronic disorders

[Angiogenesis and tumor]

Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation from existing ones, plays an important role in the physiologic circumstances such as embryonic development, placenta formation, and wound healing. It is also crucial to progress of pathogenic processes of a variety of disorders, including tumor growth and metastasis. In general, angiogenesis process is a multi-factorial and highly structured sequence of cellular events comprising migration, proliferation and differentiation of endothelial cells and finally vascular formation, maturation and remodeling.Thereby, angiogenesis inhibition as a helping agent to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation has attracted the scientists' attentions studying in this field