Ginsenoside Rg3 attenuates tumor angiogenesis via inhibiting bioactivities of endothelial progenitor cells

Jae Won Kim, Seok Yun Jung, Yi Hong Kwon, Jun Hee Lee, You Mie Lee, Boo Yong Lee, Sang Mo Kwon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that Ginsenoside Rg3 appears to inhibit tumor growth including Lewis lung carcinoma, intestinal adenocarcinomas or B16 melanoma by inhibiting cell proliferation, tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) appear to play a key role in the growth of early tumors by intervening with the angiogenic switch promoting tumor neovessel formation by producing angiogenic cytokines during tumor progression. This paper reports a novel mechanism of Ginsenoside Rg3, a candidate anticancer bio-molecule, on tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting the multiple bioactivities of EPCs. When Ginsenoside Rg3 was applied to the ex vivo cultured outgrowth ECs, a type of EPCs, it inhibited the cell proliferation, cell migration and tubular formation of EPCs. Importantly, Ginsenoside Rg3 attenuated the phosphorylation cascade of the VEGF dependent p38/ERK signaling in vitro. The xenograft tumor model clearly showed that Ginsenoside Rg3 suppresses tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting the mobilization of EPCs from the bone marrow microenvironment to the peripheral circulation and modulates VEGF-dependent tumor angiogenesis. In conclusion, this study provides a potential therapeutic molecule, Ginsenoside Rg3, as an anticancer drug by inhibiting the EPC bioactivities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)504-515
Number of pages12
JournalCancer Biology and Therapy
Volume13
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2012

Keywords

  • Anti-angiogenesis
  • Endothelial progenitor cells
  • Ginsenoside Rg3
  • Tumor angiogenesis
  • VEGF signaling

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ginsenoside Rg3 attenuates tumor angiogenesis via inhibiting bioactivities of endothelial progenitor cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this