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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #183984
Title: THE SOY ISOFLAVONE GENISTEIN PROMOTES APOPTOSIS IN MAMMARY EPITHELIAL CELLS BY INDUCING THE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR PTEN

Author
item DAVE, BHUVANESH - UAMS/ACNC
item EASON, RENEA - ACNC
item TILL, RENEE - ACNC
item GENG, YAN - UAMS/ACNC
item VELARDE, MICHAEL - UAMS STUDENT
item BADGER, THOMAS - UAMS/ACNC
item SIMMEN, ROSALIA - UAMS/ACNC

Submitted to: Carcinogenesis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2005
Publication Date: 5/16/2005
Citation: Dave, B., Eason, R.R., Till, R.S., Geng, Y., Velarde, M.C., Badger, T.M., Simmen, R.C. 2005. The soy isoflavone genistein promotes apoptosis in mammary epithelial cells by inducing the tumor suppressor PTEN. Carcinogenesis. 26(10):1793-1803.

Interpretive Summary: The soy isoflavone genistein is associated with reduced risk of breast cancer in women who consume soy-rich diets. Our study using mammary epithelial cells treated with genistein, the bioactive component of soy foods, provides a possible mechanism by which soy-based diets may be cancer protective. We found that tumor cells are selectively induced to die by genistein, resulting in viable cells with less potential for tumorigenesis.

Technical Abstract: The isoflavone genistein (GEN), a biologically active component of soy foods, is associated with reduced breast cancer risk in women who consume soy-rich diets. GEN has been reported to influence many biological processes, of which suppression of cell proliferation and stimulation of apoptosis are considered to be major pathways underlying its inhibition of tumorigenesis. This study evaluated the mechanism by which diets containing GEN promote mammary epithelial cell death. We report that mammary glands of young adult female rats exposed from gestation day 4 to postnatal day 50, to AIN-93G diets containing as sole protein source, casein (CAS) supplemented with GEN, or soy protein isolate (SPI+) had increased apoptosis, relative to rats fed CAS diet devoid of GEN. Mammary gland proliferation was unaffected by diet. The increased apoptotic index in mammary glands of GEN and SPI+ rats was accompanied by increased levels of the tumor suppressor protein PTEN, albeit enhanced mammary expression of the pro-apoptotic p21, Bax, and Bok genes was observed only in GEN-fed rats. GEN induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells concomitant with increased PTEN expression, and this was abrogated by PTEN siRNA. MCF-7 cells treated with serum from GEN- or SPI+-fed rats had increased apoptosis as well as increased levels of the PTEN transcript. PTEN siRNA attenuated the increased apoptotic response of MCF-7 cells to serum from rats fed SPI+ or GEN, although the inhibition to basal (CAS serum) apoptotic levels was achieved only for cells treated with GEN serum. Decreased p21 and Bok gene expression accompanied the inhibition of apoptosis by PTEN siRNA. Data implicate PTEN in the induction of apoptosis by GEN and suggest that the promotion of apoptosis leading to inhibition of tumorigenesis in vivo by diets containing GEN may also involve the distinct activities of yet unknown GEN metabolite(s) and/or other systemic factors induced by GEN.