Plumbagin Restrains Hepatocellular Carcinoma Angiogenesis by Stromal Cell-Derived Factor (SDF-1)/CXCR4-CXCR7 Axis.

BACKGROUND Anti-angiogenic therapy has recently emerged as a highly promising therapeutic strategy for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS We assessed cellular proliferation, invasion, and activation of growth factors (VEGF and IL-8) with SDF-1 induced in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721, and this progression was limited by plumbagin (PL). The human umbilical vein endothelial cell line HUVEC was co-cultured with SDF-1-induced SMMC-7721, and the expressions of CXCR7, CXCR4, and PI3K/Akt pathways after PL treatment were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis.