Polysaccharides derived from Lycium barbarum suppress IGF-1-induced angiogenesis via PI3K/HIF-1α/VEGF signalling pathways in MCF-7 cells

• Published in: Food chemistry 2012-04, Vol.131 (4), p.1479-1484
• Main Authors: Huang, Xu, Zhang, Qing-Yuan, Jiang, Qiu-Ying, Kang, Xin-Mei, Zhao, Ling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Biological and medical sciences; Breast cancer; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HIF-1α; IGF-1; LBPs; PI3K; VEGF
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.10.039

► LBPs inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. ► LBPs affected insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 protein accumulation. ► LBPs may inhibit tumour cell growth by suppressing IGF-1-induced angiogenesis via PI3K/HIF-1α/VEGF signalling pathways. Lycium barbarum (LB) is a berry-type fruit. Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs), derived from LB, has anti-tumour properties and exhibits potent anti-angiogenic effects. The aim of this study was to elucidate possible signal transduction pathways functioning to mediate the breast cancer-suppressive effects of LBPs. Using MCF-7 cells, we determined that a 90h treatment with 0.50mg/ml of LBPs resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation. Using this same system, we observed that LBPs could also affect insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 protein accumulation, suppress phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity and phosphorylated-PI3K (p-PI3K) protein levels, inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α) protein accumulation without altering HIF-1α mRNA levels, and suppress VEGF mRNA expression and protein production. Our results demonstrate that LBPs may inhibit tumour cell growth by suppressing IGF-1-induced angiogenesis via PI3K/HIF-1α/VEGF signalling pathways.