A 2,3-diphenylpyrido[1,2-a] pyrimidin-4-one derivative inhibits specific angiogenic factors induced by TNF-α

Low-grade chronic inflammation is a key process of angiogenesis in tumour progression. We investigated whether a synthetic analogue of apigenin, the 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-phenyl-4H-pyrido[1,2-a] pyrimidin-4-one (called DB103), interfered with the mechanisms involved in the angiogenic process induced by the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNFα). In endothelial cells, DB103 but not apigenin reduced the TNFα-induced oxidative stress. DB103 inhibited the activation of ERK1/2 but not JNK, p38 and Akt kinases, while apigenin was not so selective because it inhibited essentially all examined kinases. Similarly, apigenin inhibited the TNFα-induced transcription factors CREB, STAT3, STAT5 and NF-κB, while DB103 acted only on NF-κB. DB103 inhibited the induced-release of angiogenic factors such as monocyte chemotactic protein-1, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and angiopoietin-2 but not IL-8, while apigenin reduced the IL-6 and IL-8 release. DB103 revealed a better ability than apigenin to modulate proangiogenic responses induced by an inflammatory microenvironment.