Antiangiogenic effects of melatonin in endothelial cell cultures

Published on Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Abstract

Endothelial cells represent one of the critical cellular elements in tumor microenvironment playing a crucial role in the growth and progression of cancer through controlling angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) produced from tumor cells is essential for the expansion of breast cancer and may function in both paracrine and autocrine manners to promote proliferation, growth, survival and migration of endothelial cells.

Since melatonin regulates tumor microenvironment by decreasing the secretion of VEGF by malignant epithelial cells and also regulates VEGF expression in human breast cancer cells, the aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-angiogenic activity of melatonin against the pro-angiogenic effects of breast cancer cells.

In this work, we demonstrate that melatonin strongly inhibited the proliferation as well as invasion/migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Melatonin disrupted tube formation and counteracted the VEGF-stimulated tubular network formation by HUVEC.

In addition, conditioned media collected from human breast cancer cells were angiogenically active and stimulated tubule length formation and this effect was significantly counteracted by the addition of anti-VEGF or melatonin. Melatonin also disintegrated preformed capillary network.

All these findings demonstrate that melatonin may play a role in the paracrine interactions that take place between malignant epithelial cells and proximal endothelial cells.

Melatonin could be important in reducing endothelial cells proliferation, invasion, migration and tube formation, through a downregulatory action on VEGF. Taken together, our findings suggest that melatonin could potentially be beneficial as an antiangiogenic agent in breast cancer with possible future clinical applications!

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- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Melatonin tablets. From 30-40mg/day up to 200mg/day orally in patients with advanced stage of cancer disease and/or patients without respond to traditional treatments);

- Melatonin use in cancer patients have started in 1974, when melatonin prepared according to Prof. Di Bella’s formulation [...]. For 11 days was administered to the patient, admitted to the general medical ward at the Maggiore-Pizzardi Hospital in Bologna, very slowly (over approx. 8 hours) and intravenously administered 1000 mg of melatonin for 11 days. During the course of each day, the patient was intravenously administered 4 saline drips of 500 ml, each containing ten 25 mg bottles of freeze-dried melatonin, lasting 2 hours, totaling 1000 mg per day. No other drug of any kind was administered in order to ascertain the effect of the MLT without interference [...]. From Melatonin with adenosine solubilized in water and stabilized with glycine for oncological treatment - technical preparation, effectivity and clinical findings;

- About Melatonin - In vitro, review and in vivo publications;

- Publication: Melmethoatonin anticancer effects: Review (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication: Key aspects of melatonin physiology: 30 years of research (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Vitamin C/Ascorbic Acid, 2–4 grams, twice a day orally);

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Somatostatin, Octreotide, Sandostatin LAR, analogues and/or derivatives);

- Somatostatin in oncology, the overlooked evidences - In vitro, review and in vivo publications;

- Publication, 2018 Jul: Over-Expression of GH/GHR in Breast Cancer and Oncosuppressor Role of Somatostatin as a Physiological Inhibitor (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2018 Sep: The over-expression of GH/GHR in tumour tissues with respect to healthy ones confirms its oncogenic role and the consequent oncosuppressor role of its physiological inhibitor, somatostatin: a review of the literature (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Aug: The Entrapment of Somatostatin in a Lipid Formulation: Retarded Release and Free Radical Reactivity (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Sep: Effects of Somatostatin and Vitamin C on the Fatty Acid Profile of Breast Cancer Cell Membranes (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Sep: Effects of somatostatin, curcumin, and quercetin on the fatty acid profile of breast cancer cell membranes (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2020 Sep: Two neuroendocrine G protein-coupled receptor molecules, somatostatin and melatonin: Physiology of signal transduction and therapeutic perspectives (from Di Bella's Foundation);