Hui-Chun Hsu, Chia-Ni Chang, Yu-Li Chang, Tien-Soung Tong and Yen-Chun Chen
Sambucus formosana (Nakai), a wide spread plant found from the Asia-Pacific regions is used in the traditional medicine of Taiwan to treat trauma induced skin bruise. We herein evaluated in vitro angiogenesis effects of ethanol extract of S. formosana, furthermore, the plant extract effect on HUVEC-mediated tube formation and signaling transduction were also studied. S. formosana extract (SFE) exerted a significant stimulation effect on the proliferation of HUVEC cells at 100 μg/mL. Using migration and invasion assay, the activity of this plant extract on HUVEC was also observed in a dose-dependent manner and significant improved tube formation. Crude extract of S. formosana induced MEK/ERK phosphorylation in HUVEC cells after 10 min of incubation time. Growth factors disturbed assays showed that either VEGF or SFE-induced down stream signaling was inhibited by kinase inhibitors U0126 and PD 98059 and the HUVEC proliferation effect was blocked significantly. These results show that the angiogenesis properties of S. formosana extract seem associated with proliferation of HUVEC cells through down stream regulation of MEK/ERK’s phosphorylation. The regulatory effects of SFE on MEK-ERK and consequently on migration and invasion, and tube formation provide new evidence of its efficacy and emphasize its high potential therapeutic value.