Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a potent inhibitor of mammary carcinogenesis. Cancer cells produce various angiogenic factors which stimulate host vascular endothelial cell mitogenesis and chemotaxis for their growth and metastasis. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent angiogenic factor that is expressed in many tumors. In this study, we found that CLA decreased bFGF-induced endothelial cell proliferation and DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. However, CLA did not inhibit endothelial cell migration. Furthermore, CLA showed a potent inhibitory effect on embryonic vasculogenesis and bFGF-induced angiogenesis in vivo. Collectively, these results suggest that CLA selectively inhibits the active proliferating endothelial cells induced by bFGF, which may explain its anti-carcinogenic properties in vivo.

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