Visit our Expo - Redox and Inflammation signaling 2012

Session III : Protein kinase cascades as therapeutic targets Poster III, 5
Sanguinarine inhibits VEGF-induced Akt phosphorilation
Giuseppina Basini, Sujen E. Santini, Simona Bussolati, Francesca Grasselli
Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Biotecnologie Veterinarie, Qualità e Sicurezza
degli Alimenti, Sezione di Fisiologia Veterinaria, Università di Parma, 43100 Parma,
Italy. E-mail: basini@unipr.it
Angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels develop from pre-existing ones, plays
an essential role during embryogenesis, adult vascular remodelling and in several pathological
disorders including cancers, ischemic cardiovascular disease, diabetic retinopathy, wound
healing and inflammation. Unraveling the pro- and anti-angiogenetic mechanisms would offer
therapeutic options to ameliorate or perhaps even cure disorders that are now leading causes
of mortality. Research conducted over the past 10 years has demontrated that VEGF is a
major regulator of angiogenesis by interacting with cellular receptors and communicating
with the nucleus through a network of intracellular signaling pathways. Sanguinarine (SA), an
alkaloid isolated from Sanguinaria Canadensis, is known for its antiangiogenetic effects by
suppressing basal and VEGF-induced new vessel growth. The present study was aimed to
evaluate possible effect of SA on Akt phosphorylation, a critical event in VEGF-mediated
angiogenesis. Briefly, 2'105 immortalized porcine aortic endothelial cell (AOC) generously
provided by José Yelamos (Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, El Palmar, 30120
Murcia, Spain) were seeded in 1 ml M199 and treated with: 1) VEGF (100 ng/ml); 2) SA (300
nM); 3) VEGF+SA at room temperature. After a 10 min incubation, Akt activity was
evaluated by Akt/PKB Kinase Activity Assay Kit (Stressgene, Victoria, Canada). VEGF
treatment significantly (p