Abstract
Background and Objective: Valsartan is an anti-hypertensive drug routinely used to treat patients with hypertension. It is a Type 1 Angiotensin receptor (AT1) receptor blocker and AT1 receptor blocker possess anti-neoplastic activity, hence the anti-cancer activity of this drug can be speculated. However also reports are showing pro-angiogenic and hence the pro-tumorigenic activity of valsartan, therefore the drug was envisaged for potential pro-tumorigenic activities. Materials and Methods: The effects of valsartan as a pro-angiogenic/anti-angiogenic molecule was tested in chicken embryos using an MCF-7 ductal carcinoma cell line. Post-treatment number of branch points as an indicator of angiogenesis were counted and histopathology was done. Statistical analysis was done using Tukey's HSD procedure to determine the difference in angiogenesis between the groups. Results: The result suggested that valsartan is a proangiogenic drug that enhances new blood vessel arborization and intussusceptive angiogenesis. The breach in vascular wall integrity was also observed post valsartan treatment that may serve for cancer cell metastasis. Conclusion: Valsartan shows proangiogenic activity and alter the normal structure of blood vessels that can attribute to cancer cell metastasis at least in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane model.