Molecules 2012, 17(6), 7206-7216; doi:10.3390/molecules17067206
Article

Liquiritigenin Inhibits Tumor Growth and Vascularization in a Mouse Model of Hela Cells

Yuxin Liu, Sirou Xie, Yu Wang, Kang Luo, Yang Wang and Yunqing Cai* email
Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, 140 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 11 May 2012; in revised form: 1 June 2012 / Accepted: 7 June 2012 / Published: 12 June 2012
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Abstract: Angiogenesis is one of the crucial steps in the transition of a tumor from a small, harmless cluster of mutated cells to a large, malignant growth, capable of spreading to other organs throughout the body. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis is thought to be as an anti-angiogenic target for cancer therapy. Liquiritigenin (LQ), a flavanone existing in Radix glycyrrhiza, shows extensive biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. In our studies, liquiritigenin effectively inhibited the growth of tumors xenografted in nude mice from human cervical cancer cell line HeLa cells, and microvascular density (MVD) of the tumor exposed to liquiritigenin was reduced in a dose dependent manner, especially in the high dose group. Moreover, the expression and secretion of VEGF were down-regulated by the drug in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, liquiritigenin can be further studied on cancer and other diseases associated with VEGF up-regulation.
Keywords: cervical cancer; liquirtigenin; angiogenesis; vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, Y.; Xie, S.; Wang, Y.; Luo, K.; Wang, Y.; Cai, Y. Liquiritigenin Inhibits Tumor Growth and Vascularization in a Mouse Model of Hela Cells. Molecules 2012, 17, 7206-7216.

AMA Style

Liu Y, Xie S, Wang Y, Luo K, Wang Y, Cai Y. Liquiritigenin Inhibits Tumor Growth and Vascularization in a Mouse Model of Hela Cells. Molecules. 2012; 17(6):7206-7216.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Yuxin; Xie, Sirou; Wang, Yu; Luo, Kang; Wang, Yang; Cai, Yunqing. 2012. "Liquiritigenin Inhibits Tumor Growth and Vascularization in a Mouse Model of Hela Cells." Molecules 17, no. 6: 7206-7216.

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