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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
A Simple Bioassay for the Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
Published on: March 15, 2016
[Dihydroartemisinin inhibits the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in K562 cells]
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310031, China.
Aim:
To study the effect of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in K562 cells and assess the effect of DHA on leukemic angiogenesis induced by K562 cells.
Methods:
Firstly, analyzed the anti-proliferation effect of DHA on K562 cells and assessed the inhibitory effect on expression of VEGF in K562 cells. Further, the conditioned medium (CM) of K562 cells pretreated with DHA was assessed for its stimulating effect on proliferation of endothelial cells and angiogenesis on chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model.
Results:
DHA effectively inhibited the proliferation of K562 cells in vitro, and the IC50 was 13.08 micromol x L(-1). The VEGF level of K562 cells was significantly lowered after treated with DHA for 48 h, even at a lower concentration (2 micromol x L(-1), P < 0.05). The stimulating effect on proliferation of endothelial cells and angiogenesis on CAM model were weakened in response to the CM from K562 cells pretreated with DHA in a dose-dependent manner.
Conclusion:
DHA could effectively downregulate the VEGF expression in K562 cells, and inhibit the leukemic angiogenesis induced by K562 cells.
