Crocin Inhibits Angiogenesis and Metastasis in Colon Cancer via TNF-α/NF-kB/VEGF Pathways.

Angiogenesis and metastasis play pivotal roles in the progression of cancer. We recently discovered that crocin, a dietary carotenoid derived from the Himalayan crocus, inhibited the growth of colon cancer cells. However, the exact role of crocin on the angiogenesis and metastasis in colorectal cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that crocin significantly reduces the viability of colon cancer cells (HT-29, Caco-2) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), but was not toxic to human colon epithelial (HCEC) cells. Furthermore, pre-treatment of human carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) with crocin inhibited cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis in concentration -dependent manner. Further studies demonstrated that crocin inhibited TNF-α, NF-κB and VEGF pathways in colon carcinoma cell angiogenesis and metastasis. Crocin also inhibited cell migration, invasion, and tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in a concentration -dependent manner. We also observed that crocin significantly reduced the secretion of VEGF and TNF-α induced activation of NF-kB by human colon carcinoma cells. In the absence of TNF-α, a concentration-dependent reduction in NF-kB was observed. Many of these observations were confirmed by in vivo angiogenesis models, which showed that crocin significantly reduced the progression of tumour growth. Collectively, these finding suggest that crocin inhibits angiogenesis and colorectal cancer cell metastasis by targeting NF-kB and blocking TNF-α/NF-κB/VEGF pathways.

1. Introduction

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of death among cancer patients [1]. The treatment for this disease involves cytoreductive surgery followed by cytotoxic chemotherapy, but the risk of recurrence remains high. Therefore, it is important to develop therapeutic strategies to improve the prospects of recovery and minimize the side effects of pre-existing treatments while targeting effective therapies. One of the primary characteristics of all cancers is angiogenesis and the subsequent growth and development of new blood vessels that promote tumours [2]. Recently, it has been reported that angiogenesis is a common denominator in as many as 70 major diseases including cancer, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, which affects 50 million people around the world [3]. This grim statistic has promoted an urgent search for new anti-angiogenesis drugs [4]. A wide array of these anti-angiogenic drugs have been approved by the United States food and drug administration (FDA) that target various cytokine pathways including nuclear factor-κB (NF-kB), vesicular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) alpha. These drugs are used as adjuvants to chemotherapy, radiation, surgical extraction and other disease conditions connected to angiogenesis [5]. Thus, angiogenesis inhibitors have the dual benefit of inhibiting angiogenesis as well as improving the efficacy of chemotherapeutic treatments [5].

Anti-angiogenic drugs have also been used as a successful strategy to treat solid tumours [6]. It is thought that treating tumours with anti-VEGF could be an effective form of therapy since VEGF stimulates angiogenesis. This is exemplified by the drug bevacizumab, a human recombinant monoclonal antibody to VEGF. This was the first anti-angiogenic drug to be used in clinical trials for lung cancer and breast cancer and is currently being investigated for its effects on other cancers [7,8].

Several studies have demonstrated that the ubiquitous transcription factor known as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) composed of p50, p65, and IkBa subunits has an important role in many eukaryotic cellular processes, such as angiogenesis, inflammation, cell proliferation, transformation, and tumorigenesis [9,10]. The primary mechanism of NF-kB activation is the induced degradation of nuclear factor kappa B (IκBα) through its phosphorylation by multi subunit IkBa kinase (IKK) complex consisting of two catalytic subunits (IKKα, and IKKβ) and a regulatory subunit (IKKγ) [11,12]. Upon activation, the NF-KB is translocated to the nucleus, where it binds to a specific DNA consensus sequence, enabling transcription [13].

The transcription factor NF-kB is the primary regulator of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha signalling pathway. For example, in glioblastoma cells, NF-kB inhibition leads to the suppression of proangiogenic factors such as VEGF and IL8. This indicates that increased activity of NF-kB may promote angiogenesis [14]. It has also been shown that inhibition of NF-kB can result in cell apoptosis, suppression of proliferation of fibroblast-like synovial cells, and suppression of arthritic angiogenesis [15,16]. Since NF-kB represents a primary downstream target for TNF-α signalling, these reports emphasize the functional significance of NF-kB signalling in angiogenesis, cancer, and arthritis [17]. Under clinical conditions, anti-angiogenic drugs based on NF-kB, VEGF, MMP, and HIF alpha targeting can have severe side-effects such as haemorrhage, arterial clots and impaired wound healing [18]. Therefore, it is imperative that sufficiently non-toxic alternatives to these drugs can be sourced.

Of course, one promising avenue of discovery is substances that have been safely cultivated and consumed by humans for millennia. For instance, the traditional olive tree can provide many anti-tumour phenolic, triterpenoid [19] and oleuropein compounds [20,21]. Indeed, many other foodstuffs such as herbs and spices have been actively promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to their widespread consumption and minimal side-effects [22].

The dietary carotenoid crocin is one such compound (Supplementary Figure S1). This is a derivative of saffron and has been reported to have many pharmacological properties [23] including anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity [24]. Crocin is reported to enhance liver cancer activity by coating with magnetite nanoparticles, and safranal is reported to exhibit anti-angiogenesis activity [25,26]. Indeed, patent literature covering the period 2000–2016 [27] showed that saffron and its active components could be employed as adjuvants for treatment of cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the transition of these compounds into clinics is still at a nascent stage because of limited trial data.

In a recent observation by Li et al. [28], the researchers noted the effect of crocin on NF-kB signalling in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) through decreased expression of p-IκBα induced by LPS (lipopolysaccharides), p65 and p-IκB kinase (IKK) α/β in comparison to the untreated cells. Moreover, they showed that crocin treatment significantly reduced plasma levels of interleukins -1β (IL-1β), interleukins -6 (IL-6), and TNF-α in collagen induced arthritic (CIA) mice. It has further been shown that crocin inhibits NF-kB activation and the production of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α by blocking NF-kB activation through its interaction with IKK [29]. Recent studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that dietary crocin exhibits potential anticancer activity in numerous cancers including breast [30], pancreatic [31,32], lymphoma [33], lung [34], and melanoma [35]. However, the effects of crocin on TNF-α/NF-kB/VEGF pathways in angiogenesis and colorectal cancer metastasis have not been properly explored. Therefore, this study explores whether the crocin behaves as an anti-angiogenic agent by interfering with the TNF-α/NF-kB/VEGF pathways.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Chemicals and Reagents

Crocin and doxorubicin were purchased from Analab Ltd. (Lisburn, UK). Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). All antibodies, including anti-Bcl2, anti-caspases, anti-Bax, anti-Beta actin, anti-CD31, anti-Ki67, anti-IKBα, p-IKBα, anti-NF-κB, and anti-VEGF were obtained from Cell Signalling Technology (CST) (London, UK). Human colon cancer lines (HT-29 and Caco-2 and normal HCEC cells) were purchased from American type culture collection and deposited to the internal cell bank at Ulster University. All other chemicals and reagents used were of analytical standard grade. A cell Titer 96® non-radioactive cell proliferation MTS assay single solution was purchased from Promega Corporation (Madison, WI, USA). Rosewell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI)-1640 (GIBCO, Waltham, MA, USA) medium, Trypsin-EDTA solution, Foetal calf serum, (GFR-Matrigel) (BD Biosciences, Erembodegem, Belgium), NF-κB p65 ELISA kit (CST), Transwell BD-Matrigel basement membrane matrix inserts (BD-Biosciences, Belgium), bovine type II collagen (Chondrex, Redmond, WA, USA), penicillin/streptomycin 100 units, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), HEPES buffer, propidium iodide (Sigma-Aldrich, Gillingham, UK), calcium chloride, Actinomycin D, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and disodium hydrogen phosphate were purchased from Merck, Kenilworth, NJ, USA.

2.2. Cell Line Culture

Colon cancer cell lines (HT-29 and Caco-2 cells) and human colonic epithelial cells (HCEC) were purchased from American type culture collection. Dulbecco’s modified eagle’s medium (DMEM) containing 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS) was used to grow all cells along with, 1% L-glutamine and 1% penicillin/streptomycin (Thermo Scientific Hyclone, Logan, UT, USA). Cell lines derived from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were obtained as a generous gift from Dr S. Sam (St. Jude Institute of Medical Sciences and research centre, Kelara, India). These cells were grown in Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium (RPMI 1640), supplemented with 1% sodium pyruvate, 1% glutamine, 10% foetal bovine serum (Sigma-Aldrich) and 1% antibiotics (penicillin/streptomycin). Humidified cell culture incubators were maintained at 37 °C with 5% CO2.

2.3. Preparation of Drug Stock Solution

The appropriate doses for crocin and doxorubicin were derived from previous studies [36]. Dose determination studies on crocin and doxorubicin were conducted separately to determine IC50 (inhibition concentration) for Caco-2 and HT-29 cells at different time points. The incubation times used for crocin and doxorubicin were 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. As a result, concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 µg/mL for crocin and 100 µg/mL for doxorubicin were selected.

Crocin (purity ≥ 96%, Analab, Lisburn, UK) was dissolved in 1% DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) to make a stock solution of 10 mg/mL. Working stocks were further prepared from this using cell culture media to make concentrations of 10, 20, 30, and 40 µg /mL. Doxorubicin solution (100 µg mL−1) was used as a positive control.

2.4. Cytotoxicity Assay

Cells (CaCo-2, HT29, HCEC and HUVEC) (1 × 105/well) were plated at the volume of 100 (μL/well) in 96 well plates and incubated overnight to attach firmly in media supplemented with 10% FBS. Human carcinoma and HUVEC cells were treated with different doses of crocin for 24 h, then incubated with Titer 96 non-radioactive cell proliferation MTS assay single solution (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, USA). Briefly, MTS solution (20 μL) was added to each cell culture well, the plate was incubated at 37 °C for 4 h and then analysed at 490 nm (Flurostar Omega plate reader, BMG Labtech, Aylesbury, UK). The percentage of cell survival in each well was calculated by comparing the cellular response at 24 h. The absorbance of the control sample (without treatment) was considered as 100% cell viability. Doxorubicin was used as positive drug control.

2.5. Colony-Forming Assay

Cells were seeded in 6-well plates at 10,000 cells/well and incubated overnight at 37 °C with 5% CO2. The cells were then incubated with different concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 40 μg/mL) at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 24 h. Next, the used medium containing crocin was replaced with a fresh medium. The cells continued to be cultured for 2 weeks to form clones, during which time the medium was replaced every 2 days. After washing with PBS, the cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. Stain with 5 mL 0.01% (w/v) crystal violet in dH2O for 30–60 min. Excess crystal violet was washed with dH2O and allowed to dry. Colonies were counted under microscope attached with digital camera using image-J software version 1.53r21.

2.6. Cell Migration Assay

Colon cancer (HT-29, Caco-2) and HUVECs cells were seeded (2 × 104) in the above Transwell chamber with 200 µL of medium and incremental concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 30, 40 μg mL−1), and plated in the bottom chamber of the Transwell with 600 µL of fresh medium containing 10% FBS. Each concentration of crocin was added into three wells. These cells were then cultured at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 24 h. Cells under the membrane were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained with crystal violet after removing cells above the membrane. Each filter was randomly selected for three fields of view, and the number of cells that passed through the membrane were counted and photographed under a microscope. Migration rate (%) = (the number of migrated cells in the treated group/the number of migrated cells in the control group) × 100%. Each experiment was performed in triplicate.

2.7. Cell Invasion Assay

Colon cancer cells and HUVEC cells were seeded in transwell chambers with Matrigel containing serum free media (2 × 104 cells/well). The medium containing 10% FBS was added to the lower chamber. The cells in the upper transwell chamber were incubated with increasing concentration of crocin (10, 20, 30, 40 μg mL−1) for 24 h at 37 °C with 5% CO2. After washing with PBS, fixation and staining were performed in the same manner as the colony formation assay. After wiping cells in the upper chamber with cotton swabs, five fields of view were randomly taken under the microscope to tally the number of invaded cells, and photographed. Invasion rate (%) = (the number of invaded cells in the treated group/the number of invaded cells in the control group) × 100%. Each experiment was performed in triplicate.

2.8. Tube Formation Assay

According to the manufacturers’ instructions, Matrigel® was used to determine tube formation in HUVEC cells. Briefly, Matrigel® was placed in each well of the 96-well plate for 30 min at 37 °C. HUVEC cells were seeded into each well at 1000 per well. An inverted microscope was used to photograph the tube after 8 h of culture.

2.9. Effect of Crocin on Colon Carcinoma Cell VEGF and NF-kB Downregulation

Colon cancer cells (HT29 and Caco-2) were analysed for expression of NF-kB, IkBα, P-IkBα and VEGF proteins by using Western blot after the addition of crocin. Whole cell lysate was prepared using CaCo-2 and HT-29 cells treated for 24 h with different concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 30, 40 μg/mL) according to previously reported procedures [37]. A 10% SDS polyacrylamide gel was then used to separate the whole cell lysates by electrophoresis, then electrotransferred onto nitrocellulose membranes. Immunoblots were probed using NF-kB, IkBα, P-IkBα and VEGFR (Cell Signalling Technology, Herts, UK). These were visualised with NBT/BCIP chromogenic substrate.

2.10. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for VEGF and Phosphorylated NF-KB p65 Subunit

Colon cancer cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were treated with different concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 40 µg/mL) for 24 h. The level of VEGF in the supernatant was measured using a VEGF ELISA kit (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). Activation of NF-kB was determined by estimating the phosphorylation of NF-kB p65 using ELISA (Cell Signaling Technology, Herts, UK) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2.11. In Vivo Angiogenesis Model for Colon Cancer

Animals

The ST. Jude Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kelara, India, provides male athymic nude mice (NCR nu/nu) aged 6–8 weeks. The mice were housed in 2 polypropylene cages and maintained under standardized, environmental conditions (22–28 °C, 60–70% relative humidity, 12 h dark/light cycle and water ad libitum). The experiments were performed under IAEC number JNCHRC/13/IAEC/PN-185/B, according to OECD guidelines for chemical testing. Under the direction of the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (Project No. 521/01/08/2017/Project 5/17/07/2019) and PPL No. 2768, all experiments were conducted according to the guidelines set by WHO (World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland) and INSA, New Delhi, and Animal (scientific procedures) Act 1986, respectively. Two investigators (MMT and HAB) conducted all animal work in India and the UK. The doses of crocin used for in vivo experiments were determined from the results of previous toxicity studies (data not shown).

A dorsal skinfold chamber tumour model was used to investigate the in vivo effect of crocin on angiogenesis-induced tumours. The vessel-counting method described previously [38] was used to quantify neo-vasculature observed predominantly at the tumour’s periphery in this model. Briefly, HT-29 cells (1.0 × 106) in 0.1 mL PBS were injected subcutaneously in flanks of nude mice. The mice were randomly divided into four groups, with six mice in each. A dose of 0.1 mL of PBS was administered by oral gavage to Group 1 (controls). In Group 2, crocin was administered five times a week, every Monday through Friday (50 mg/kg body weight), in Group 3, 100 mg/kg body weight, every Monday through Friday, while in Group 4, 150 mg/kg weight, five times a week, every Monday through Friday, respectively, in 0.1-mL PBS. Upon implantation of tumour cells, the treatment began that day. A 0.22 µm filter was used to filter the crocin solution before administration. Occasionally (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), we measured tumour volumes with Vernier scale callipers and weighed each mouse twice each week (Monday and Friday).

A dorsal skinfold wall containing the injected cells was flapped when the tumours in the control group reached a diameter of 5 mm. Within a 1 cm2 area surrounding each implant site, tumour sections were examined using low magnification light microscopy (×10). Tumour volume was calculated using the formula V = 0.52ab2, where a represents the longest diameter and b represents the shortest diameter.

2.12. Densitometry and Statistical Analysis

A densitometer (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) equipped with Image QuaNT software version 8.2 was used to determine the relative density of immunoreactive bands. Statistically significant differences are expressed as means with 95% confidence intervals. Data are reported as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of at least three independent experiments. GraphPad Prism® 4.0 was used for the statistical analysis. To test the statistical significance between multiple control and treated groups, we used nonparametric analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Bonferroni post hoc multiple comparison tests. To examine differences between treated and control groups, the student’s t-test was used. The significance threshold was set at * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001.

3. Results

3.1. Crocin Significantly Reduces the Viability of Human Colon Carcinoma and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells, but Was Not Toxic to Normal Human Colonic Epithelial Cells

Colon carcinoma cells CaCo-2 and HT-29 were treated with incremental concentrations of crocin (10, 20, and 40 μg/mL) for 24 h. The crocin induced a significant (p < 0.05; p < 0.01) reduction in the cell viability of these colon carcinoma cells in a dose-dependent manner compared to the untreated control (Figure 1A,B). In this case, crocin did not induce any significant reduction in normal human colonic epithelial cells (HCEC) (Figure 1C). Likewise, crocin demonstrated significant (p < 0.05; p < 0.01) reduction in the HUVEC (Human umbilical vein endothelial cells) in a dose dependent manner (Figure 1D). These results suggest that crocin demonstrated selective cytotoxicity by inducing a significant reduction in tumour and HUVEC cells, but not normal human colonic epithelial cells. Doxorubicin (100 µg/mL) was used as a positive control. The control was treated with 1% DMSO.

Figure 1

Cytotoxic effect of crocin on Human carcinoma cells. (A) HT-29 cells; (B) Caco-2 cells; (C) Human colonic epithelial cells (HCEC) and (D) Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Values represent mean ± SD, n = 3. Asterisks indicate significant difference compared to control (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01), ns = non-significant, Doxorubicin (100 µg/mL) was used as positive control. The control was treated with 1% DMSO. (PC = positive control).

3.2. Crocin Significantly Reduces Colon Carcinoma Cell Colony Formation

Colon carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were treated with different concentrations of crocin (10, 20, and 40 μg/mL) for 24 h. The effect of crocin on colon carcinoma cell growth was studied using the colony formation assay (Figure 2A,B). Crocin decreased the size and number of HT-29 and Caco-2 cell colonies (Figure 2C) as compared with the control group.

Figure 2

Effect of crocin on colony formation of human colon carcinoma cells. Cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were seeded in 6-well plates at 10,000 cells/well and incubated overnight at 37 °C with 5% CO2. The cells were then incubated with different concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 40 μg/mL) at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 24 h. Cells were allowed to grow for 2 weeks to form clones. After washing with PBS, 4% paraformaldehyde was applied to fix the cells. The Image J software (Bethesda, MD, USA) was used to count the clones stained by crystal violet. (A) HT-29 cells; (B) Caco-2 cells; and (C) reduction in number of colonies of human colon carcinoma cells. Asterisks represent significant differences compared to control. Data represent mean ± SD; n = 3, * p < 0.05 was considered significant. Scale bar = 20 µm.

3.3. Crocin Significantly Inhibits Cell Migration and Invasion in Colon Carcinoma Cells in a Concentration-Dependent Manner

Colon carcinoma metastasis is the main reason for colon cancer-related death in patients. Therefore, the effect of crocin on migration of human colon carcinoma cells was determined using the cell migration assay as shown (Figure 3A,B). Crocin demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) inhibitory effect on migration of colon carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) in a dose dependent manner (Figure 3C). Similarly, the effect of crocin on colon carcinoma cell invasion was also evaluated using the cell invasion assay (Figure 3D,E). Crocin showed significant (p < 0.05) inhibition on the invasion of colon carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) in a concentration dependent manner (Figure 3F).

Figure 3

Effect of crocin on colon carcinoma cells migration and invasion. Colon cancer cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were seeded at the concentration of (2 × 104) in the above Transwell chamber with 200 µL of medium and incremental concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 30, 40 μg mL−1), and plated in the bottom chamber of the Transwell with 600 µL of fresh medium containing 10% FBS. Each concentration of crocin was added into three wells. These cells were then cultured at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 24 h. Cells under the membrane were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained with crystal violet after removing cells above the membrane. (A) Inhibition of migration of HT-29 cells; (B) inhibition in migration of Caco-2 cells; (C) percent inhibition in migration of HT-29 and Caco-2 cells; (D) inhibition in invasion of HT-29 cells; (E) inhibition in invasion of Caco-cells and (F) percent inhibition in invasion of HT-29 and Caco-2 cells. Data described as mean ± SD, n = 3, * p < 0.05 were considered significant. Scale bar = 20 µm.

3.4. Crocin Demonstrates Marked Anti-Angiogenic Activity in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Next, we investigated the effect of crocin on angiogenesis, which plays a vital role in the metastasis of colon carcinomas. HUVEC cells were treated with crocin (10, 20, and 40 μg/mL) for 24 h. Crocin demonstrated significant (p < 0.001) reduction in tube formation as compared to control (Figure 4A). Likewise, crocin showed significant (p < 0.05; p < 0.01; and p < 0.001) inhibition of cell migration and invasion as compared to the control (Figure 4B,C) in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that crocin displayed significant anti-angiogenic activity.

Figure 4

Effect of crocin on tube formation, migration, and invasion of HUVEC cells. Matrigel was used to determine tube formation in HUVEC cells. The cells were seeded in each well at 1000/well, and inverted microscope was used to photograph the tube formation after 8h culture according to manufacturer’s instructions. Likewise, for cell migration and invasion HUVEC were seeded at the concentration of (2 × 104) in the above transwell chamber with 200 µL of medium and incremental concentrations of crocin (10, 20, 30, 40 μg mL−1), and plated in the bottom chamber of the transwell with 600 µL of fresh medium containing 10% FBS. Each concentration of crocin was added into three wells. These cells were then cultured at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 24 h. Cells under the membrane were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained with crystal violet after removing cells above the membrane. (A) Tube formation analysis for HUVEC cells; (B) invasion analysis for HUVEC cells and (C) migration analysis of HUVEC cells. All data were annotated as mean ± SD, n = 3, * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; and *** p < 0.001 was considered significant compared to the control. Scale bar = 20 µm.

3.5. Crocin May Inhibit Colon Carcinoma Induced Angiogenesis through the TNF-α/NF-kB/VEGF Pathways

We investigated the effect of crocin on the regulation of VEGF expression through the NF-kB pathway. The transcription factor, NF-kB promotes angiogenesis and can be tumorigenic by activation of pro-angiogenesis genes such as VEGF. This is the prime growth regulatory factor in angiogenesis. The colon carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were treated with crocin (10, 20, and 40 μg/mL) for 24 h. Western blots were used to detect the expression of NF-kB, IkBα, P-IkBα and VEGF proteins. Crocin showed significant (p < 0.05) downregulation of these proteins as compared to the control (Figure 5A,B) in a concentration-dependent manner. Likewise, effect of crocin on ratio of IkBα/ P-IkBα were also evaluated (Supplementary Figure S2).

Figure 5

Effect of crocin on NF-kB/VEGF signalling in HT-29 and Caco-2 cells. Colon cancer cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were seeded at the concentration (1 × 106) cells with fresh medium containing 10% FBS and different concentrations (10, 20 and 40 µg/mL) of crocin for 24 h. Whole cell lysates were prepared from crocin treated HT-29 and Caco-2 cells and separated by SDS-PAGE. Resolved proteins were probed with NF-kB, IkBα, P-IkBα and VEGF antibodies using β-actin as a loading control. (A) Dose-dependent effect of crocin on NF-kB/VEGF production in HT-29 cells, and protein band quantification by densitometric analysis; (B) dose-dependent effect of crocin on NF-kB/VEGF production in Caco-2 cells, and protein band quantification by densitometric analysis. Data annotated as mean ± SD, n = 3, * p < 0.05 were considered significant. The complete blot of NF-kB, VEGF, IkBα, P-IkBα and Beta-actin antibodies are shown in Supplementary Figures S5–S9.

We then used ELISA to assess the secretion of VEGF and phosphorylation of NF-kB by HT-29 and Caco-2 colon cancer cells. The results demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the secretion of VEGF protein by human colon carcinoma cells with increasing concentration of crocin (Figure 6A,B). To gain more insight into the involvement of NF-KB activation in colon carcinoma angiogenesis, TNFα (10 pg/mL), a promotor of NF-kB, was used to treat HT-29 and Caco-2 colon carcinoma cells in the presence and absence of crocin (40 μg/mL) for 24 h. Our results demonstrated that TNF-α treatment dramatically increased the activation of NF-kB, whereas a significant (p < 0.05) reduction was observed in the presence of crocin (Figure 6C). Likewise, increasing concentrations of crocin (10, 20, and 40 μg/mL) produced a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in NF-kBp65 activation compared to DMSO control. These results were further confirmed by protein analysis as shown in (Supplementary Figure S3). These results suggest that crocin might inhibit colon carcinoma induced angiogenesis through the NF-KB pathway.

Figure 6

ELISA analysis of the secretion of VEGF and NF-kB by colon cancer cells. Colon cancer cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) were seeded at the concentration (1 × 106) cells with fresh medium containing 10% FBS and different concentrations (10, 20 and 40 µg/mL) of crocin for 24 h. The cell lysate prepared from colon cancer cells were subjected to ELISA analysis for determination of the production/secretion of VEGF and NF-kB. Likewise, TNFα (10 pg/mL) was used to induce activation of NF-kB production in colon cancer cells. (A) Effect of crocin on secretion of VEGF by HT-29 cells; and (B) effect of crocin on secretion of VEGF by Caco-2 cells. (C) Effect of crocin on production of p-NF-kBp65 by HT-29 and Caco-2 cells in the presence and absence of TNFα. Data were expressed as mean ± SD, n = 3, * p < 0.05 was considered significant.

3.6. Crocin Can Inhibit the Growth and Angiogenesis of Colon Tumours in Male Athymic Nude Mice (NCR nu/nu)

In order to determine whether crocin can inhibit the tumour angiogenesis, colon cancer cells (HT-29) were injected into mice to induce significant angiogenesis. When the tumour reached a diameter of 5 mm, the skin was flapped to observe the blood vessels surrounding tumour (Supplementary Figure S4). The total number of blood vessels around each implant site treated with crocin demonstrated significant (p < 0.01) inhibition of blood vessel formation and tumour volume at 150 mg/kg treated group. However, no significant changes were observed in reduction of blood vessel formation and tumour volume in other groups and control group (Figure 7A,B) and (Figure 7C), respectively. These observations suggest that crocin at high doses of 150 mg/kg can inhibit angiogenesis and colon tumour growth.

Figure 7

Effect of crocin on tumour induced angiogenesis in vivo. The HT-29 colon cancer cell suspension at concentration of (1 × 106) cells were injected in mouse and allowed to induce significant angiogenesis. When the tumour reached to 5 mm in diameter, the skin was flapped to observe the blood vessels formation surrounding tumour after 7 days by light microscope. (A) The effect of crocin on inhibition of tumour induced angiogenesis; (B) total number of blood vessels (major or branched) measured in 1cm area of implant site, and (C) tumour volume after crocin treatment. All data were expressed in mean ± SD, n = 6, * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01 was considered significant. Scale bar = 50 µm.

4. Discussion

It is well established that the majority (almost 90%) of cancer deaths occur due to metastasis, invasion, and angiogenesis [17,39]. Angiogenesis is fundamental to these processes mediating metastasis through VEGF and NF-KB pathways [40]. Although there are many anti-angiogenic inhibitors in clinical use, some can have unwanted side-effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to source more therapeutic compounds that are more effective and less toxic. Now, natural resources such as dietary herbs, plants, fungi and bacteria have been shown to be a rich source of less toxic anti-angiogenic compounds [40,41]. Specifically, our research group has focused on the effects of dietary crocin, a carotenoid found in the crocus plant from the northern Himalayas. This has been shown to be active against many types of cancers such as melanoma, daltons lymphoma, breast, lung, cervical, and pancreatic cancer [29,30,31,32,33,34]. In the current study, we tried to unravel the mechanism by which crocin inhibits angiogenesis and colon carcinoma cell metastasis through exploration of the VEGF/NF-KB pathway. In the first instance, we demonstrated that crocin inhibits migration and invasion of HT-29 and Caco-2 cells. In previous studies, we have reported that crocin has a cytotoxic effect on cervical cancer cells, while only having minimal effects on normal cells [42]. Consistent with this, the present study demonstrated that crocin has a higher IC50 for normal corneal epithelial cells compared to colon carcinoma cells, indicating that crocin is less toxic to normal cells.

Tumour growth and metastasis are fundamentally dependent upon angiogenic processes [39]. Thus, one might hypothesize that inhibiting tumour growth can be accomplished by inhibiting angiogenesis. To this end, we conducted a series of angiogenesis inhibition assays to gain a better understanding of how crocin affects colon carcinoma. Our data showed that crocin inhibited cell migration and invasion in colon cancer cells (HT-29 and Caco-2). Similarly, crocin also inhibits the tube formation, migration, and invasion in HUVEC cells. We then investigated the underlying mechanism of angiogenesis inhibition by crocin in colon carcinoma cells. Gupta et al. [43] reported that cancer-induced angiogenesis is mainly promoted by pro-angiogenic factors produced by cancer cells [43]. One such important angiogenesis regulator is VEGF, expressed and secreted by various cancer cells [44,45]. Endothelial cells respond to VEGF by binding and activating its receptor, leading to the survival, proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumour cells, which are all critical elements of tumour angiogenesis [46,47,48]. Recently, it has been shown that crocin inhibits NF-kB activation and can inhibit the production of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α by blocking NF-kB activation through its interaction with IKK [22]. The downstream signalling factor of NF-kB pathway is VEGF, which is involved in NF-KB induced tumour angiogenesis [49]. We therefore analysed the effect of crocin on the expression of these proteins. The results of this study demonstrated that crocin inhibits the expression of NF-kB, its phosphorylated (P-IkBα) and non-phosphorylated (IkBα) subunits, and VEGF proteins in human colon carcinoma cells. These finding are in agreement with Teng et al., who reported the preventive potential of crocin on ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer by suppression of NF-kB mediated inflammation [50].

We also investigated the effects of crocin on VEGF secretion from human colon carcinoma cells. These results demonstrated that crocin inhibited VEGF secretion by colon carcinoma cells in a concentration dependent manner. It was in agreement with the findings of Farahi et al., who revealed the potential for a combination therapy of metformin and crocin to suppress VEGF in breast cancer metastasis [51].

It is well known that TNF-α plays a crucial role in immunity, as well as contributing to the progression of cancer by stimulating proliferating cells, promoting their survival, and stimulating angiogenesis [52,53]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that TNF-α can activate NF-kB via transcriptional activation [54,55]. We treated colon cancer cells with TNF-α in the presence and absence of crocin to gain more insight in the mechanism of the regulation of NF-kB activation. The results demonstrated that crocin significantly reduced NF-kB activation in the presence of TNF-α, whereas, in the absence of crocin, TNF-α treatment dramatically increases NF-kB activation in colon cancer cells. Likewise, a significant reduction was observed in NF-kBp65 activation with increasing concentrations of crocin compared to DMSO control.

We then conducted in vivo studies of crocin in an angiogenesis induced colon tumour model to confirm our in vitro studies. Our initial findings revealed that pre-treatment of tumour bearing mice with high doses (150 mg/kg) of crocin retarded angiogenesis and tumour growth significantly. This anti-angiogenic activity of crocin may further hamper tumour progression, contributing to inhibition of the tumour growth in vivo. These results may indicate that crocin inhibits the angiogenesis and metastasis of human carcinoma cells via the TNF-α/NF-κB/VEGF pathway in vitro and progression of tumour growth in vivo. Further research is still required to fully understand the underlying mechanism of crocin induced inhibition of angiogenesis and colon carcinoma metastasis by conducting clinical trials in human subjects.

5. Conclusions

The present study demonstrated the remarkable ability of crocin to inhibit angiogenesis, migration, invasion, and metastasis of colon carcinoma cells by downregulation of VEGF through the NF-kB pathway. These results may provide a better understanding of the anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic potential of crocin and present it as an effective chemo-preventative agent in the treatment of human colon carcinoma.