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Vol. 60, Issue 3, 595-602, September 2001
Mediates the Proliferative but Not the
Cytotoxic Dose-Dependent Effects of Two Major Phytoestrogens on Human
Breast Cancer Cells
Departments of Pharmaco-Biology (M.M., D.B.) and Cellular Biology
(S.M., M.L.P., S.A.), University of Calabria, Rende-Cosenza, Italy; and
Département de Biologie Cellulaire, Université de
Genève, Sciences III, Genève, Switzerland (B.C., D.P.)
Phytoestrogens are a chemically diverse group of compounds made by
plants that can have estrogenic effects in animals. Both tumorigenic
and antitumorigenic effects have been reported. Although estrogens
stimulate the growth of many breast tumors, there is a negative
correlation between the incidence of breast cancer and the
phytoestrogen-rich diet of certain Asian populations. To begin to
resolve this paradox, we have analyzed the estrogenic properties of
genistein and quercetin, two flavonoid phytoestrogens particularly
abundant in soybeans. Trans-activation experiments with
a transfected reporter gene for nuclear estrogen receptors (ER) show
strong activation of the endogenous ER
by both phytoestrogens in two
MCF7 human breast cancer cell lines. This is supported by the
observation that the two phytoestrogens induce the down-regulation of
ER
mRNA and protein levels. Using chimeric proteins consisting of
the hormone binding domains of ER
and ER
fused to the Gal4 DNA
binding domain, we have established that genistein and quercetin are
full estrogenic agonists of both ER isoforms. Ligand binding experiments with purified ER
and ER
confirm that the two
phytoestrogens are ER ligands. At concentrations that are sufficient to
obtain substantial transcriptional activity, they stimulate the
proliferation of two ER
-dependent breast cancer cell lines. At high
concentrations, such as those reached with a soy-rich diet, genistein
and quercetin are strong cytotoxic agents that even kill ER-independent
HeLa cells. Thus, the mode of action of phytoestrogens and the balance between being risk or chemopreventive factors for breast cancer may
depend on the dietary load.
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