Genistein and Selected Phytoestrogen-Containing Extracts Differently Modulate Antioxidant Properties and Cell Differentiation: an <i>in Vitro</i> Study in NIH-3T3, HaCaT and MCF-7 Cells

Šušaníková, Ivana; Puchľová, M.; Lachová, V.; Švajdlenka, E.; Mučaji, P.; Smetana, K.; Gál, Peter

doi:10.14712/fb2019065010024

Folia Biologica > Archive > 2019, Vol. 65 > Issue 1 > Genistein and Selected…

Fol. Biol. 2019, 65, 24-35

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2019065010024

Genistein and Selected Phytoestrogen-Containing Extracts Differently Modulate Antioxidant Properties and Cell Differentiation: an in Vitro Study in NIH-3T3, HaCaT and MCF-7 Cells

Ivana Šušaníková¹, M. Puchľová¹, V. Lachová¹, E. Švajdlenka², P. Mučaji¹, K. Smetana, Jr.^3,4, Peter Gál^1,5,6,7

¹Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
²Department of Chemical Theory of Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
³BIOCEV, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Vestec, Czech Republic
⁴Institute of Anatomy, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
⁵Burn Centre Prague, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
⁶Department of Biomedical Research, East-Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseaes, Inc., Košice, Slovak Republic
⁷Laboratory of Cell Interactions, MediPark, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovak Republic

Received December 2018
Accepted December 2018

During the last decades, plant extracts containing phytoestrogens have increasingly been used as an alternative to oestradiol hormone replacement therapy. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of genistein with those of different phytoestrogen-containing plant extracts (from red clover flowers and soybeans) on the proliferation and differentiation of NIH-3T3, HaCaT and MCF-7 cells. Our results showed poor correlations between direct anti/pro-oxidant effects and cytotoxicity of the tested samples. In contrast, genistein showed a direct correlation between significant pro-oxidative effects at cytotoxic concentrations and almost no pro-oxidative effects at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Moreover, the tested red clover extract and genistein induced keratin-8 (luminal and prognostic marker in breast cancer) expression only in MCF-7 cells, but this effect was not seen following treatment with the soybean extract. From this point of view, the effect of consumption of phytoestrogens in oestrogen-positive breast cancer remains to be elucidated. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that various phytoestrogen- containing plant extracts and genistein are able to specifically modulate antioxidant properties and differentiation of studied cells.

Keywords

Trifolium pratense L., Glycine max L., isoflavonoids, cytotoxicity, wound healing, tumour growth, breast cancer.

Funding

The project “Centre for Tumor Ecology – Research of the Cancer Microenvironment Supporting Cancer Growth and Spread” (reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000785) is supported by the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic within the National Sustainability Programme II (Project BIOCEV-FAR reg. No. LQ1604), by project BIOCEV (CZ.1.05/ 1.1.00/02.0109) and by Charles University (PROGRES Q28). The Grant Agency of the Ministry of the Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (VEGA-1/0561/18 and VEGA-1/0359/18), and the Agency for Science and Research (under the contract No. APVV-16-0207 and APVV-16-0446) are also appreciated for support.