Identification of polyoxometalates as inhibitors of basic fibroblast growth factor

Angiogenesis is the process of new blood vessel formation from pre-existing ones. Angiogenic factors contribute to neovascularization that takes place in angiogenesis-dependent diseases, including cancer. Inhibiting the activity of the angiogenic factors to block the angiogenesis pathways is the current strategy of cancer therapy. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is regarded as one of the most important angiogenic factors. Herein, we selected polyoxometalates (POMs) with different structures to study the interactions between bFGF and POMs. The results show that POMs could bind to the protein with high affinity, causing detectable changes in conformation and biophysical properties of protein. In addition, POMs could effectively inhibit the cell proliferation induced by bFGF. Significantly, we found that the structure, size and composition of POMs play a key role in the interactions between bFGF and POMs. This study will be meaningful for future screening and design of polyoxometalate-based anticancer drugs.