Tumour suppression by Chinese cordyceps extract via antiangiogenic activity

The development of pharmacological antiangiogenic agents to disrupt the vascular supply and starve tumours of nutrients and oxygen is a novel strategy for tumour therapy. Chinese cordyceps, a traditional Chinese herb, has been widely reported to exhibit antitumor effects. In the present study, we tested the suppression of tumour angiogenesis by Chinese cordyceps extract (CCE) via a tube formation assay using human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro and Lewis lung carcinoma xenografts in mice. In addition, CCE was investigated in an ex vivo angiogenesis assay using rat aortic rings. CCE showed a dose-dependent suppression of capillary tube formation in HUVECs as well as in rat aortic rings. The antiangiogenic activity of CCE was further verified in Lewis lung carcinoma xenograft models in mice, where the tumour volume was significantly decreased after treatment with CCE at 100 mg/kg. The mean vascular density (MVD) in the tumours, as measured by immunohistochemical staining of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31), was also markedly reduced by treatment with CCE at 100 mg/kg. These results indicated that Chinese cordyceps may exhibit antitumor effects through antiangiogenic activity and could be used in the prevention and/or therapy of angiogenesis-related cancers. Graphical Abstract