Decylubiquinone suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis by inhibiting angiogenesis via the ROS/p53/ BAI1 signaling pathway

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide with a rising incidence, and is the leading cause of cancer-related death among females. Angiogenesis plays an important role in breast cancer growth and metastasis. In this study, we identify decylubiquinone (DUb), a coenzyme Q₁₀ analog, as a promising anti-breast cancer agent through suppressing tumor-induced angiogenesis. We screened a library comprising FDA-approved drugs and found that DUb significantly inhibits blood vessel formation using in vivo chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and yolk sac membrane (YSM) models. DUb was further identified to inhibit angiogenesis in the rat aortic ring and Matrigel plug assay. Moreover, DUb was found to suppress breast cancer growth and metastasis in the MMTV-PyMT transgenic mouse and human xenograft tumor models. To explore whether the anticancer efficacy of DUb was directly corrected with tumor-induced angiogenesis, the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer assay on the CAM was performed. Interestingly, DUb significantly inhibits the angiogenesis of breast cancer on the CAM. Brain angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) adhesion subfamily, has an important effect on the inhibition of angiogenesis. Further studies demonstrate that DUb suppresses the formation of tubular structures by regulating the reactive oxygen species (ROS)/p53/BAI1 signaling pathway. These results uncover a novel finding that DUb has the potential to be an effective agent for the treatment of breast cancer by inhibiting tumor-induced angiogenesis.