Most Western countries face high and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Each year, heart disease kills more people than cancer. The increasing risk of CVD in woman after postmenopausal changes suggests that estrogen has cardioprotective effects. It is well known that estrogen binds to estrogen receptors (ER) and mediates its effects via different pathways and thereby influences v...

Phytoestrogens are a group of plant-derived compounds with an estrogen-like activity. In mammalians, phytoestrogens bind to the estrogen receptor (ER) and participate in the regulation of cell growth and gene transcription. There are several reports of the cytotoxic effects of phytoestrogens in different cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to measure the phytoestrogen activity against ...

Commercially available, but not yet characterized, the AVG-16 granulosa cell line was established from granulosa cells of medium porcine follicles. To examine the suitability of the AVG-16 cell line for studying the molecular mechanism of action of various environmental oestrogens, we investigated: 1/ cell morphology (by standard haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining); 2/ basal and follicle-stim...

CONTEXT Oestrogens were proven effective in the hormonal treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) >60 yr ago and are still used as second-line hormonal therapy. Paradoxically, oestrogens might also be involved in the development and progression of PCa. OBJECTIVE To examine mechanisms of how oestrogens may affect prostate carcinogenesis and tumour progression. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION Recent ...

Endocrine disruptors can affect the endocrine system without directly interacting with receptors, for example, by interfering with the synthesis or metabolism of steroid hormones. The aromatase that converts testosterone to 17beta-estradiol is a possible target. In this paper we describe an assay that simultaneously detects aromatase inhibition and estrogenicity. The principle is similar to tha...

The molecular mechanisms of the vascular effects of phytoestrogens are poorly studied. Prostacyclin is a potent vasodilator synthesized by two isoforms of cyclooxygenase (COX) in endothelium. This study examine the effects of two phytoestrogens, the isoflavones genistein and daidzein, on prostacyclin production by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the possible role of...

Phytoestrogens exert pleiotropic effects on cellular signaling and show some beneficial effects on estrogen-dependent diseases. However, due to activation/inhibition of the estrogen receptors ERa or ERb, these compounds may induce or inhibit estrogen action and, therefore, have the potential to disrupt estrogen signaling. We performed a comprehensive analysis and potency comparison of phytoestr...

BACKGROUND Bone injury is common in many clinical situations, such as surgery or trauma. During surgery, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production decreases the quality and quantity of osteoblasts. Remifentanil decreases ROS production, reducing oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. We investigated remifentanil's protective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in ost...

Isoflavones are phytoestrogens which have estrogen-like activity in animals and humans with structure similar to 17-β-estradiol and capable of binding to estrogen receptors (ERs).This experiment was conducted to demonstrate the effect of isoflavones on estradiol concentration in blood and its influence on the productive performances in ISA Brown laying hens fed with supplemented feed with large...

Oestrogens and 1α,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 (1,25-D3) are steroids that can provide effects by binding to their receptors localised in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus or the plasma membrane respectively inducing genomic and non-genomic effects. As confirmed notably by invalidation of the genes, coding for their receptors as tested with mice with in vivo and in vitro treatments, oestrogens and 1,25-D3...