Evaluation of Borax Pentahydrate as a Novel Antiangiogenic Agent

Abstract Angiogenesis, it is the process of the formation of new capillaries from pre-existing vessels. Tumor growth and metastasis depend on angiogenesis Studies show that natural and synthetic boron compounds have anticancer effects. Although the anticancer effects of some boron compounds include borax pentahydrate have been demonstrated, there is no data on their antiangiogenic effects in the literature. This study was aimed to investigate antiangiogenic potential effects of borax pentahydrate (BPH) in in vitro and in vivo . Anti-proliferative activities of BPH assessed MTT assay. Anti-angiogenic activities were investigated using tube formation assay in vitro and chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay in vivo . In addition, the protein level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) molecule, which is the basic molecule in vessel formation was determined by western blot analysis. BPH displayed potent antiangiogenic activities in vitro : inhibited proliferation HUVECs, disrupted endothelial tube formation and inhibited vascular formation of CAM surface in a dose dependent manner. In addition, significant dose-dependent decrease was observed in the VEGF protein levels. These findings suggest that BPH could be a new anti-angiogenic agent. BPH may shed light on drug development studies as a new therapeutic agent for angiogenesis-related diseases.