Genistein is a predominant isoflavone in soybeans and has been shown to inhibit the invasion and growth of various cancer cells including prostate, breast, lung, head and neck cancer [11–14]. The anticancer

mechanism of Genistein has been illustrated to inhibit angiogenesis both in vivo and in vitro [15]. Our previous work also found that Genistein was capable to inhibit ocular neovascularization through suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia inducible factor selleck products 1 (HIF 1) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression [16–19]. Genistein inhibit endothelial cells proliferation. Moreover, melanoma cells could imitate endothelial cells to form VM channels and expressed some endothelial-associated CB-5083 manufacturer genes, including vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin, a calcium-dependent adhesion molecule). Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the effect of Genistein on the VM channels formation of highly aggressive melanoma cells. In addition, it has been indicated that VE-cadherin plays a critical role in the formation of melanoma VM [20, 21]. We also examined

the influence of Genistein on VE-cadherin level and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms of VM. Materials and selleck chemicals methods Drug Genistein was purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, Missouri, USA) and dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at the concentration of 200 × 103 μM. Then it was diluted with RPMI 1640 to the desired concentration. Final concentration

of DMSO in cell culture medium was 0.1% (v/v). Paclitaxel supplier The medium containing 0.1% DMSO only served as control. Cell culture The highly aggressive C918 and poorly aggressive OCM-1A human uveal melanoma cell lines were generously supplied by Prof. Elisabeth A Seftor (Children’s Memorial Research Center, Chicago, IL). The cells were maintained in RPMI 1640 (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 0.1% gentamicin sulfate at 37°C in an atmosphere of 5% CO2. After treatment with Genistein, cell proliferative activity was determined by the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay. Three-dimension culture and PAS-staining Three-dimensional type I collagen gels were produced as follows [22]: Fifty μl of type I collagen (3.02 mg/ml; BD Bioscience, Bedford, MA) were dropped onto 18-mm glass coverslips in six-well tissue culture plate. Absolute ethanol was added to each well, and the collagen was allowed to polymerize for 5 min at room temperature. After a wash with PBS, 1 × 106 C918 cells or OCM-1A cells were plated onto the three-dimensional type I collagen gels to analyze the ability of the cells to engage in VM. After 48h, the cells were fixed with 4% formaldehyde in PBS for 10 min.