Abstract: AIM: To investigate the effect of shikonin on the endothelial cell and elucidate its anti-angiogenic mechanism.METHODS: MTT assay , cell migration assay and in vitro angiogenesis assay were explored to determine the effect of shikonin on the proliferation , migration and angiogenic ability of endothelial cells respectively.RESULTS: Shikonin can inhibit the angionenesis of endothelial cells in vitro.At 20 μmol·L-1 , the inhibition ratio of the proliferation , migration and angiogenic ability were 38.66 % ±0.05 %, 79.69 % ±0.03 % and 80.95 % ±0.05 % respectively.CONCLUSION: Shikonin can inhibit the angiogenesis through its effect on endothelial cell directly:the suppression of proliferation ,migration , angiogenic ability of endothelial cells.

Key words: shikonin, endothelial cell, tube formation, apoptosis