Department of Life Sciences, Office of Research and Development, National Chung Hsing University, No. 250, Kuo Kuang Road, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Abstract:
Andrographolide is one of the major diterpene lactones found in Andrographis paniculata Nees and
exhibits remarkable inhibitory effects on cancers, including breast, colon, epidermoid, gastric, liver,
leukemia, myeloma, peripheral blood lymphocytes and prostate cancers, as well as on HeLa cell.
In this study, the anti-pulmonary cancer effects of andrographolide were studied in a strain of
transgenic mice that carry the human vascular endothelial growth factor A165 (hVEGF-A165), a gene that induces
the formation of pulmonary tumors. These results demonstrated that andrographolide significantly reduced the
expression of hVEGF-A165 to normal levels, specifically in the Clara cells of the lungs of transgenic mice, and
suppressed the formation of tumors by reducing VEGF, EGFR, Cyclin A and Cyclin B expression on the transcriptional
and translational levels. This result indicated that an arrest of the cell cycle may be a critical mechanism for the observed
effects of andrographolide treatment on the overexpression of VEGF, which induced pulmonary tumors in transgenic
mice. In conclusion, the antiangiogenesis and chemotherapeutic potential of andrographolide may provide a cure for
pulmonary tumors in the future.
