The effects of Erlotinib,an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor,on the angiogenesis of pancreatic cancer / 中华消化杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the mechanisms of inhibitory effect of Erlotinib,an epidermal growth factor(VEGF) receptor inhibitor,on angiogenesis of pancreatic carncer.Methods①In a tube formation assay,Erlotinib(100?mol/L) was applied to the culture media and compared to the serum free media.The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in BxPC-3 cells treated with Erlo- tinib at different concentrations(5,50,100,200?mol/L) was determined by RT-PCR.②The xeno grafts derived from BxPC 3 cancer cells were inoculated into the BALB/C nude mice.The mice were treated with either Erlotinib(100 mg/kg of Erlotinib oral lavage daily) or saline for four weeks.The vol- ume of the xenografts was measured and the tumor growth rate was calculated.The microvessel density (MVD) of tumor tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry with an antibody against factorⅧ. Results There were less endothelium cells and close hollow tubular structures in grlotinib treated group compared to the control group in the tube formation assay.The mean weight of xenografts in Erlotinib treated group[(0.397?0.550)g] was significantly lower than that in the control group[(1.570?1.060)g] with a inhibitary rate of 74.5%.The expression of VEGF mRNA in Ertotinib treated groups (=50?mol/L) were decreased comparing to the control group.The VEGF expression in xeno- grafts tumor tissues was also markedly down-regulated.The MVI) was significantly decreased in Erlotinib treated group( 1.86?0.43)than that in the control group (5.98?1.27,P