Quercetin, a dietary-derived flavonoid, possesses antiangiogenic potential

Quercetin, a dietary-derived flavonoid, suppresses tumor growth in vitro and in vivo, and inhibits the activity of tyrosine kinase. The effects of quercetin on the angiogenic process were examined in this study. Quercetin was found to inhibit several important steps of angiogenesis including proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human microvascular dermal enclothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, the effect of quercetin on endothelial cell proliferation was confirmed using human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The activity of quercetin on the proliferation of endothelial cells was stronger than that on A549, BEL-7402, MKN-45 tumor cells and NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells. The chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay revealed that addition of quercetin displayed an antiangiogenic effect in vivo. After exposure to quercetin. a decrease in the expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2, which is involved in the angiogenic process of migration, invasion, and tube formation, was observed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and gelatin zymography. These findings suggest that quercetin has antiangiogenic potential and that this effect may be related to an influence on the expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.