University of Louisville
Effects of Glyceollin on Estrogen Responsive Tissues
Institution
University of Louisville
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Cynthia Corbitt
Abstract
The glyceollins are anti-estrogenic compounds produced by soy plants when the plants are grown in stressful conditions, such as UV light, fungal infections, and low temperature. Previous work has shown that these compounds can inhibit estrogen-responsive tumor growth in vitro and in vivo, however, little is known about the effects of these compounds on other estrogenresponsive tissues in vivo. For this study we hypothesized that glyceollin had anti-estrogenic effects on gene expression on various estrogen-responsive tissues. Twelve adult ovariectomized CFW mice (Charles River) were divided into 4 groups of three mice: 1) Control, 2) 17-estradiol (E2) only, 3) Glyceollin only, and 4) Glyceollin + E2. Anxiety-like behavior was measured after 11 days of treatment. On day 12, estrogen-responsive tissues including the brain, uterus, liver, mammary gland, kidney, and adipose were harvested to be analyzed via real-time quantitative PCR to look at the effects of gene and protein expression. After these tissues were harvested, RNA was extracted and nanodrop analysis was conducted to determine the concentration and purity of RNA in the samples. cDNA was then created to conduct real-time qPCR analysis on various proteins/receptors in the harvested tissue. We expected to see primarily anti-estrogenic effects of glyceollin on gene expression; however, our results suggest that, besides opposing effects of estradiol, glyceollin also acts on pathways independently of estradiol, and its effects can be opposed by E2.
Effects of Glyceollin on Estrogen Responsive Tissues
The glyceollins are anti-estrogenic compounds produced by soy plants when the plants are grown in stressful conditions, such as UV light, fungal infections, and low temperature. Previous work has shown that these compounds can inhibit estrogen-responsive tumor growth in vitro and in vivo, however, little is known about the effects of these compounds on other estrogenresponsive tissues in vivo. For this study we hypothesized that glyceollin had anti-estrogenic effects on gene expression on various estrogen-responsive tissues. Twelve adult ovariectomized CFW mice (Charles River) were divided into 4 groups of three mice: 1) Control, 2) 17-estradiol (E2) only, 3) Glyceollin only, and 4) Glyceollin + E2. Anxiety-like behavior was measured after 11 days of treatment. On day 12, estrogen-responsive tissues including the brain, uterus, liver, mammary gland, kidney, and adipose were harvested to be analyzed via real-time quantitative PCR to look at the effects of gene and protein expression. After these tissues were harvested, RNA was extracted and nanodrop analysis was conducted to determine the concentration and purity of RNA in the samples. cDNA was then created to conduct real-time qPCR analysis on various proteins/receptors in the harvested tissue. We expected to see primarily anti-estrogenic effects of glyceollin on gene expression; however, our results suggest that, besides opposing effects of estradiol, glyceollin also acts on pathways independently of estradiol, and its effects can be opposed by E2.