harmine and Urinary-Bladder-Neoplasms

Angiogenesis is a vital step during the process of oncogenesis of a lot of tumors, with no exception in bladder cancer. One of the useful strategies for the development of new drugs against cancer is targeting angiogenesis. In the present study, we found that a small-molecule natural product, which belonged to the β-carboline alkaloid, named harmine, could strongly inhibit tumor angiogenesis thus exhibiting its ideal treatment efficacy in bladder cancer.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Aorta; Apoptosis; Biological Products; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Harmine; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Humans; Mice; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Rats; Signal Transduction; Small Molecule Libraries; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

The carcinogenic effects of aniline and norharman given alone or in combination were examined in rats. Neoplastic changes including hyperplastic changes of the urinary bladder were not found in all groups. Papillomas of forestomach were observed in 5 rats out of 110 rats. However, this was not significantly different among the groups. Pyelonephritis or chronic nephritis were also seen in all groups. Hematological and blood biochemical analysis did not show any notable difference in the animals treated with aniline and/or norharman.

Topics: Alkaloids; Aniline Compounds; Animals; Carbolines; Carcinogens; Harmine; Kidney Diseases; Male; Papilloma; Pituitary Neoplasms; Rats; Stomach Neoplasms; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms