Inhibitory effect of arsenic trioxide on angiogenesis and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in gastric cancer

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effect of As2O3 on angiogenesis of tumor and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in tumor cells in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: The solid tumor model was formed in nude mice with the gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. The animals were randomly divided into three groups. As2O3 was injected into the arsenic-treated groups (2.5 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg) and the same volume of saline solution was injected into the control group. Microvessel density (MVD) and expression of VEGF were detected with immunofluorescence laser confocal technology. Further expression of VEGF protein and VEGF mRNA was measured with Western bloting and fluorescence quantitative RT- PCR in SGC-7901 cells treated with As2O3. RESULTS: In nude mice, after treatment with 5 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg As2O3 respectively, about 50% and 30% tumor growth inhibition were observed correspondingly (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). Decrease in MVD appeared in As2O3-treated tumors compared with control group (P < 0.001, P < 0.001). MVD in tumors was significantly lower in 5 mg/kg group than in 2.5 mg/kg group (P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity levels of VEGF in tumor cells were significantly lowered in the arsenic-treated groups (P < 0.01, P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity level of VEGF in 5 mg/kg group was lower than that in 2.5 mg/ kg group (P < 0.01). In vitro, the expression of VEGF protein decreased in dose- and time-dependent manner after the treatment with As2O3, but in VEGF mRNA no significant difference was found between the control group and the treated groups. CONCLUSION: As2O3 can inhibit solid tumor growth by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels. One of the mechanisms is that As2O3 can inhibit VEGF protein expression.

Effect of arsenic trioxide on vascular endothelial cell proliferation and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors Flt-1 and KDR in gastric cancer in nude mice

AIM： To investigate the effect of arsenic trioxide （As2O3） on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 （VEGFR-1, Flt-1） and VEGFR-2 （KDR） in human gastric tumor cells and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells.METHODS： The solid tumor model was formed in nude mice with the gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. The animals were treated with As2O3. Microvessel density （MVD） and expression of Flt-1 and KDR were detected by immunofluorescence laser confocal microscopy. SGC-7901 cells were treated respectively by exogenous recombinant human VEGF165 or VEGF165 ＋ As2O3. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Cell viability of ECV304 cells was measured by MTT assay, and cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed using flow cytometry.RESULTS： The tumor growth inhibition was 30.33% and 50.85%, respectively, in mice treated with As2O3 2.5 and 5 mg/kg. MVD was significantly lower in arsenic-treated mice than in the control group. The fluorescence intensity levels of Flt-1 and KDR were significantly less in the arsenic-treated mice than in the control group. VEGF165 may accelerate growth of SGC7901 cells, but As2O3 may disturb the stimulating effect of VEGF165. ECV304 cell growth was suppressed by 76.51%, 71.09% and 61.49% after 48 h treatment with As2O3 at 0.5, 2.5 and 5 μmol/L, respectively. Early apoptosis in the As2O3- treated mice was 2.88-5.1 times higher than that in the controls, and late apoptosis was 1.17-1.67 times higher than that in the controls.CONCLUSION： Our results showed that As2O3 delays tumor growth, inhibits MVD, down-regulates Flt-1 and KDR expression, and disturbs the stimulating effect of VEGF165 on the growth of SGC7901 cells. These results suggest that As2O3 might delay growth of gastric tumors through inhibiting the paracrine and autocrine pathways of VEGF/VEGFRs.

Increased asprosin is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children with obesity

Background Obesity is a common disease among children,often accompanied by a lot of metabolic disease.Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is one of the most common complications of obesity among children and adolescents.Asprosin has been identified as a new adipokine that is closely associated with hepatic glucose metabolism.However,few data on asprosin in obese children with NAFLD are available.The present study focuses on the relationship between serum asprosin level and NAFLD in children with obesity.Methods A total of 110 subjects(71 boys and 39 girls aged 6–18 years)were recruited from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University:36 obese children with NAFLD,39 obese children without NAFLD and 35 lean controls.Anthropometric parameters and biochemical data were measured,and the concentrations of asprosin were detected by ELISA.Results The levels of serum asprosin were significantly higher in obese children,particularly those with NAFLD and were positively correlated with body mass index,waist to height ratio,fasting blood glucose,alanine aminotransferase and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.Furthermore,asprosin was independently associated with NAFLD in binary logistic regression analysis.Conclusion Serum asprosin levels were elevated in obese children,especially in those with NAFLD,and were involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD in children with obesity.