Anti-Tumoral Activity of a Short Decapeptide Fragment of the Alzheimer’s Aβ Peptide

The inhibition of angiogenesis is regarded as a promising avenue for cancer treatment. Although some antiangiogenic compounds are in the process of development and testing, these often prove ineffective in vivo, therefore the search for new inhibitors is critical. We have recently identified a ten amino acid fragment of the Alzheimer Aβ peptide that is anti-angiogenic both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we investigated the antitumoral potential of this decapeptide using human MCF-7 breast carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. We observed that this decapeptide was able to suppress MCF-7 tumor growth more potently than the antiestrogen tamoxifen. Inhibition of tumor vascularization as determined by PECAM-1 immunostaining and decreased tumor cell proliferation as determined by Ki67 immunostaining were observed following treatment with the Aβ fragment. In vitro, this peptide had no direct impact on MCF-7 tumor cell proliferation and survival suggesting that the inhibition of tumor growth and tumor cell proliferation observed in vivo is related to the antiangiogenic activity of the peptide. Taken together these data suggest that this short Aβ derivative peptide may constitute a new antitumoral agent.