Effects of simvastatin on the angiogenesis of colonic carcinoma xenograft in nude mice

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of simvastatin on the angiogenesis of colonic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. Methods Twelve female athymic mice inoculated with human colonic cancer cell line colo-320 subcutaneously were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group were administrated with simvastatin orally at a dose of 10 mg/kg. The control group were given the same volume of PBS. After 28 days tumor volume were recorded. C-fos, VEGF expression and microvascular density (MVD) of the xenograft tissue were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results The volume of grafting tumour in treatment group (1.29±0.14)cm3 were significantly lower than those in control group (2.07±0.18)cm3 (P<0.05). C-fos,VEGF and MVD were 2.8±0.7,2.7±0.9,12.7±1.1 in carcinoma tissues treated with simvastatin, which were lower than those(5.8±1.7,4.7±1.5,20.7±1.5,respectively) in control group (P<0.05). Conclusions Simvastatin may suppress angiogenesis of colonic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice via inhibiting C-fos and reducing the expression of VEGF. Key words: Simvastatin ; Colonic carcinoma ; Angiogenesis ;