phytoestrogens and Hypoxia

Genistein (GE), a plant-derived isoflavone, is a polyphenolic non-steroidal compound. Studies showed that GE possesses anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-apoptotic activities. However, the neuroprotective role of GE in amnesia has not been studied. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-amnesic potential of GE in a mice model of hypoxia-induced amnesia and to understand the underlying mechanism. Mice were exposed to hypoxia (10% O2) and administered vehicle or GE (10, 20, 30 mg/kg) orally for 28 days. Thereafter, Morris water maze (MWM), novel object recognition (NOR), and passive avoidance task (PAT) were performed to evaluate cognitive behavior. Next, we performed biochemical tests and gene expression analysis to uncover the mechanism underlying GE mode of action. Our results showed that GE-treatment ameliorated hypoxia-induced cognitive dysfunctions in mice. Further, GE-treatment suppressed the oxidative stress in the hippocampus of amnesic mice as evidenced by reduced lipid peroxidation, reduced nitrite and ROS levels, and increased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and increased total antioxidant capacity. GE treatment reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IL1β, IL6, and MCP-1 and increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL10 in the hippocampus of amnesic mice. Finally, GE treatment enhanced the expression of neuroprotective genes including BDNF, CREB, CBP, and IGF1 in the hippocampus of amnesic mice. Altogether, our results showed that GE treatment prevents hypoxia-induced cognitive dysfunction in mice by reducing oxidative stress and suppressing neuroinflammation while increasing the expression of neuroprotective genes in the hippocampus.

Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Genistein; Hippocampus; Hypoxia; Inflammation; Male; Mice; Neuroprotective Agents; Oxidative Stress; Phytoestrogens

Intermittent hypoxia was introduced to mimic obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in rats. Then, bone mass, bone strength and bone turnover were evaluated, and the influence of genistein on bone mass reduction was investigated in these rats.. OSAHS animal model was established via chronic intermittent hypoxia, and genistein (2.5 mg/kg/day) was used to treat OSAHS rats. The bone mineral density (BMD), bone Histomorphometric indicators, bone biomechanics and expressions of genes related to bone formation and resorption (Runx2, Col I, ALP, Osteocalcin, OPG, RANKL and TRAP-5b) were measured after treatment.. The BMD in OSAHS+OVX group was significantly lower than that in OVX group (P<0.05). The BMD in OSAHS+OVX+Genistein group was markedly increased when compared with OSAHS+OVX group (P<0.05), accompanied by partial improvement of the OSAHS induced damage to the lumbar biomechanics. In OSAHS+OVX group, the expressions of Runx2, Col I, ALP and Osteocalcin were significantly reduced when compared with OVX group, and rats in OSAHS+OVX+Genistein group had significantly higher expressions of Runx2, Col I, ALP and Osteocalcin and reduced TRAP-5b expression as compared to OSAHS+OVX group (P<0.05).. Genistein can improve the reduction in bone mass and bone strength due to OSAHS in OVX rats, which may be attributed to the increase in bone formation and inhibition of bone resorption. Our findings suggest that genistein may be used to treat and prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women with OSAHS.

Topics: Animals; Biomechanical Phenomena; Bone Density; Bone Resorption; Collagen Type I; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Genistein; Hypoxia; Osteocalcin; Osteogenesis; Phytoestrogens; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

Some bladder disorders, such as obstructive bladder and hyperactivity, may be caused partly by ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R). The neuroprotective effects of estrogens were demonstrated in in vitro studies and a great interest in soy isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) as alternative to the synthetic estrogen receptor modulators for therapeutic use has been pointed out. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of genistein and daidzein, on rat detrusor smooth muscle contractility and their possible neuroprotective role against I/R-like condition. Whole rat urinary bladders were subjected to in vitro anoxia-glucopenia (A-G) and reperfusion (R) in the absence or presence of drugs and response to electrical field stimulation (EFS) of intrinsic nerves evaluated. Furthermore rats were treated in vivo for 1 week with the phytoestrogens and the same in vitro protocol was applied to the ex vivo bladders. Antioxidant activity of genistein and daidzein on the A-G/R model was determined by measuring malonyldialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, hormones plasma levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Genistein and daidzein administered either in vitro or in vivo showed significant neuroprotective effect and antioxidant activity. Testosterone and 17β-estradiol plasma levels were not modified by daidzein, while a significant decrease of testosterone in genistein treated rats was evident. Moreover both phytoestrogens significantly decreased detrusor contractions induced by EFS in a concentration-dependent manner. For being either neuroprotective and myorelaxant, genistein and daidzein could be considered a good lead for new therapeutic agents to protect the urinary bladder from hyperactivity and nerve damage.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Electric Stimulation; Estradiol; Genistein; Glycine max; Hypoxia; Isoflavones; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Muscle Contraction; Neuroprotective Agents; Phytoestrogens; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reperfusion Injury; Testosterone; Urinary Bladder

Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is a frequent feature of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), and it may alter upper airway muscle endurance. We have previously reported the positive effects of estrogen on genioglossus fatigue resistance in rats. Our present study was designed to evaluate the effects of two phytoestrogens - genistein and coumestrol - on genioglossus contractile function and estrogen receptor (ER) expression in female rats exposed to CIH. Eight-wk-old female rats were ovariectomized and exposed to CIH for 5 wk. Genistein and coumestrol, respectively, were administered by intraperitoneal injection, at a dose of 2.5 mg kg(-1) d(-1), during the last 4 d of exposure to CIH. The contractile properties of the genioglossus were measured. Real-time RT-PCR and western blotting were performed to determine the expression of ERs in the genioglossus. Phytoestrogens were found to significantly increase genioglossus fatigue resistance, the effect of genistein being more powerful than that of coumestrol. However, higher levels of ER mRNA and protein were detected in the coumestrol group than in the genistein group. We conclude that phytoestrogens, especially genistein, could improve the endurance of the genioglossus muscle in ovariectomized rats exposed to CIH, and this effect is, in part, not related to its estrogenic action.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Chronic Disease; Coumestrol; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Genistein; Hypoxia; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Skeletal; Phytoestrogens; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Estrogen; RNA, Messenger; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; Tongue

Diets high in soy are neuroprotective in experimental stroke. This protective effect is hypothesized to be mediated by phytoestrogens contained in soy, because some of these compounds have neuroprotective effects in in vitro models of cell death. We tested the ability of the soy phytoestrogens genistein, daidzein, and the daidzein metabolite equol to protect embryonic rat primary cortical neurons from ischemic-like injury in vitro at doses typical of circulating concentrations in human populations (0.1-1 microM). All three phytoestrogens inhibited lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release from cells exposed to glutamate toxicity or the calcium-ATPase inhibitor, thapsigargin. In cells exposed to hypoxia or oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), pretreatment with the phytoestrogens inhibited cell death in an estrogen receptor (ER) dependent manner. Although OGD results in multiple modes of cell death, examination of alpha-spectrin cleavage and caspase-3 activation revealed that the phytoestrogens were able to inhibit apoptotic cell death in this model. In addition, blockade of phosphoinositide 3-kinase prevented the protective effects of genistein and daidzein, and blockade of mitogen-activated protein kinase prevented genistein-dependent neuroprotection. These results suggest that pretreatment with dietary levels of soy phytoestrogens can mimic neuroprotective effects observed with estrogen and appear to use the same ER-kinase pathways to inhibit apoptotic cell death.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Cerebral Cortex; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Embryo, Mammalian; Enzyme Inhibitors; Gene Expression Regulation; Glucose; Glutamic Acid; Glycine max; Hypoxia; In Vitro Techniques; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Neuroprotective Agents; Phytoestrogens; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Receptors, Estrogen; RNA, Messenger; Spectrin; Thapsigargin

Phytoestrogens derived from soybeans reverse endothelial dysfunction in a number of animal models of systemic vascular disease. Based on these studies, we hypothesized that phytoestrogens would reverse chronic hypoxia-induced endothelial dysfunction in rat pulmonary arteries. To test this hypothesis we examined the effect of genistein, the major phytoestrogen found in soybeans, on carbachol-induced relaxation in phenylephrine-constricted pulmonary artery rings isolated from normoxic rats and rats exposed to 14 days of hypobaric hypoxia. Compared with that in normoxic rats, the response to carbachol was impaired in pulmonary arteries isolated from rats exposed to chronic hypoxia. In normoxic rat pulmonary arteries, genistein (30 microM) did not change the maximum relaxation to carbachol. In contrast, genistein significantly enhanced the relaxation response to carbachol in pulmonary arteries from hypoxic rats, restoring it to the levels seen in normoxic rats. 17beta-estradiol (10 microM) and daidzein (30 microM), a structural analog of genistein lacking inhibitory effects on tyrosine kinases, also restored the relaxation response to carbachol in hypoxic rat pulmonary arteries. The nitric-oxide synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM) completely blocked the genistein, daidzein, and 17beta-estradiol-induced restoration of the relaxation response to carbachol, whereas the estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780 (10 microM) had no effect on the relaxation responses. We conclude that the phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein act like estrogen in restoring nitric oxide-mediated relaxation in chronically hypoxic rat pulmonary arteries and that this effect does not appear to be mediated by inhibition of tyrosine kinases or by known estrogen receptors.

Topics: Animals; Carbachol; Cholinergic Agonists; Chronic Disease; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Estradiol; Estrogen Antagonists; Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; Fulvestrant; Genistein; Hypertension, Pulmonary; Hypoxia; In Vitro Techniques; Isoflavones; Male; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Phytoestrogens; Plant Preparations; Pulmonary Artery; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Vasoconstriction; Vasoconstrictor Agents; Vasodilation; Vasodilator Agents