Inhibition of angiogenesis represents one major strategy of
cancer chemotherapy. In the present investigation, we investigated the synergism of
artesunate and
captopril to inhibit angiogenesis.
Artesunate is an
antimalarial derivative of
artemisinin from the Chinese medicinal plant, Artemisia annua L., which also reveals profound anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo.
Captopril is an
angiotensin I-converting (
ACE) inhibitor, which is well established in Western academic medicine. Both compounds inhibited migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. The combination of both drugs resulted in synergistically inhibited migration. Whereas
artesunate inhibited HUVEC growth in the XTT assay,
captopril did not, indicating independent modes of action. We established a chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay of quail embryos (Coturnix coturnix L.) and a computer-based evaluation routine for quantitative studies on vascularization processes in vivo.
Artesunate and
captopril inhibited blood vessel formation and growth. For the first time, we demonstrated that both drugs revealed synergistic effects when combined. These results may also have clinical impact, since
cardiovascular diseases and
cancer frequently occur together in older
cancer patients. Therefore, comorbid patients may take advantage, if they take
captopril to treat cardiovascular symptoms and
artesunate to treat
cancer.