Abstract

Astragaloside IV (AS) has been recently shown to possess pharmacologic activities against cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a prominent role in the induction of physiological or pathophysiological processes of tumor angiogenesis. The present study focuses on the anti-angiogenesis effects of AS in uveal melanoma cells. In this study, AS was demonstrated to exhibit higher anti-proliferation activity against cultured uveal melanoma cells compared with control. AS was also found to inhibit VEGF-a expression and secretion in human cells; functional assays also indicated inhibition of invasion and migration of the cells. This provides new information on a significant anti-tumor effect of AS. This saponin may be used as a novel therapeutic drug for the inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis.

Key words: Astragaloside IV, anti-cancer, vascular endothelial growth factor, uveal melanoma.