Climacteric the Journal of the International Menopause Society, 2015, 18(4):574-81.

Impact of lower concentrations of phytoestrogens on the effects of estradiol in breast cancer cells

F-P Chen, M-H Chien, I-Y Chern

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung and Chang Gung University , Taiwan

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the impact of lower concentrations of phytoestrogens on 17β-estradiol (E2) in the growth of MCF-7 breast cells.

METHODS:

MCF-7 cells were treated with E2 (10(-8) mol/l), one of three phytoestrogens (genistein, resveratrol, and quercetin) (10(-7)  to 10(-5) mol/l), and with a combination of both E2 and one of these phytoestrogens for 48 h. These cells were then extracted for MTT and TUNEL assay. Western blot was utilized to evaluate the proteins involved in the proliferative and apoptotic pathways, as well as the differential effects on ERα and β.

RESULTS:

MCF-7 cell proliferations were induced by both E2 alone and E2 plus one of the three phytoestrogens (at concentrations ≥ 10(-6) mol/l). Apoptotic cells were significantly increased in the phytoestrogen-treated MCF-7 cells and, conversely, suppressed in the cells treated with both E2 and phytoestrogens. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen, PI3K and p-Akt were increased in the cultures with E2 and substantially more in the cultures with E2 plus a phytoestrogen. The combination of E2 and phytoestrogen significantly inhibited the increase in FADD, cytochrome C, truncated Bid, caspase-9, caspase-3 and ERβ that was induced by phytoestrogens in the MCF-7. ERα expression was significantly induced by E2 regardless of the presence of these phytoestrogens.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study demonstrates that, in the presence of E2, genistein, resveratrol, and quercetin may stimulate breast cancer cells, even at low physiological concentrations. Therefore, the conflicting results regarding the effects of phytoestrogens on breast cells may be attributed to the endogenous estrogen present in breast tissue.

英国《更年期：国际更年期学会学报》，2015年3月

较低浓度的植物雌激素对乳腺癌细胞中雌二醇作用的影响

陈F-P，钱 M-H，陈I-Y

中国台湾长庚大学基隆长庚医院妇产科和妇科

目的︰

探讨低浓度植物雌激素对17 β-雌二醇 (E2) 对 MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞增长作用的影响。

方法︰

用E2 (10(-8) mol/l)，三种植物雌激素 （金雀异黄素、 白藜芦醇和槲皮素）  (10(-7) 到 10(-5) mol/l)，以及 E2 和这些植物雌激素之一组合处理MCF-7 细胞48 小时。然后提取这些细胞用MTT比色法和 TUNEL 实验测试。免疫印迹法被用于评估参与细胞增殖和凋亡通路的蛋白质，以及对 ERα 和 β 的差别性影响。

结果︰

E2 单独和 E2 加上三种植物雌激素之一 （浓度 ≥ 10(-6) mol/l)都可以诱导MCF-7 细胞增殖。用植物雌激素处理的MCF-7 细胞的凋亡细胞明显增加，而且，反过来，抑制E2与植物雌激素共同治疗的细胞。增生细胞核抗原，在培养皿中单独E2增多了PI3K 和 p-Akt 并且E2 加上一种植物雌激素增大的程度更大。在 MCF-7中E2 和植物雌激素的组合明显抑制了植物雌激素诱导的FADD、 细胞色素 C 、 截断的Bid，半胱氨酸蛋白酶-9、 半胱氨酸蛋白酶-3 和 ERβ的增加。无论这些植物雌激素是否存在，E2 显著诱导 ERα 的表达。

结论︰