[In vitro anti-angiogenic action of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides]

This study was designed to evaluate the inhibition effect of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides on neovascularization in vitro by chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model and human umbilical vein endothelial cell ( HUVEC). lambda-Carrageenan oligosaccharides caused a dose-dependent decrease of the vascular density of CAM, and adversely affected capillary plexus formation. At a high concentration of 1 mg x mL(-1), this compound inhibited the endothelial cell proliferation, while low concentration of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides (< 250 microg x mL(-1)) affected the cell survival slightly (> 95%). Different cytotoxic sensitivity of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides in three kinds of cells was observed, of which HUVEC is the most sensitive to this oligosaccharides. The inhibitory action of lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides on the endothelial cell invasion and migration was also observed at relatively low concentration (150 - 300 microg x mL(-1)) through down-regulation of intracellular matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2) expression on endothelial cells. Current observations demonstrated that lambda-carrageenan oligosaccharides are potential angiogenesis inhibitor with combined effects of inhibiting invasion, migration and proliferation.