Abstract:
Objective To explore the inhibitory effects and mechanism of quercetin plus resveratrol on the growth of lewis lung cancer in mice. Methods Forty C57BL/6 mice with transplanted Lewis lung cancer were randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 mice in each group:control group,quercetin group,resveratrol group and combined group.Different treatments were served from day 4 and all mice were sacrificed on day 24 after transplantation.Tumor volume,weight and inhibitory rate were compared among the 4 groups.The expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),matrix metalloproteinare-2(MMP-2) and apoptosis index(AI) were detected by immunohistochemistry,western blot and TUNEL,respectively. Results Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in drug-treated groups.Tumor volume and weight in drug-treated groups was lower than that of the control group(
P<0.05 or 0.01).The anti-tumor efficacy of quercetin plus resveratrol was significantly higher compared with quercetin or resveratrol alone(
P<0.05).Expression levels of VEGF and MMP-2 were decreased in drug-treated groups compared with the control group(
P<0.05 or 0.01).AI increased in drug-treated groups compared with the control group(
P<0.05 or 0.01).There was significant difference in the VEGF and MMP-2 expression as well as AI between combined group and drug-treated alone group(
P<0.01). Conclusion Quercetin in combination with resveratrol had a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of lung cancer which might be related to the down-regulation of VEGF and MMP-2 and as well as the induction of cell apoptosis.