Ovarian, endometrial and myometrial cells and strips of longitudinal myometrium from cows on defined days of estrous cycle were treated for 24-72 h with different doses (1-100 ng/ml) of PCBs mixture (Aroclor 1248) or with one of PCB congeners (126, 77, 153). The administered doses of PCBs neither affected the viability of cells nor influenced the ovarian steroidogenesis as measured by progester...

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Each year 44 335 women living in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer. Female sex hormones, such as oestrogen, are clearly implicated in breast cancer and conventional treatments include manipulation of the hormonal environment. There is both epidemiological and experimental evidence that plant oestrogens (phyto-oestrogens) in the diet ma...

BACKGROUND Phytoestrogens are a diverse group of non-steroidal plant compounds. Because they have chemical structures similar to estrogens they are able to bind on estrogen receptors in humans. OBJECTIVES In this study, we tested the effects of crude phytoestrogen extracts from rye (Secale cereale), green pea (Pisum sativum) and yellow pea seeds (Pisum sativum cv.) on cell proliferation and t...

Epidemiologic and experimental studies support the hypothesis that dietary estrogens from plant sources (phytoestrogens) may play a role in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer. The molecular mechanisms for such chemopreventive effect are still unclear. We investigated the possibility that phytoestrogens may bind differentially to estrogen receptor proteins (ER[alpha] and ERss) and affe...

Icariin, the main active compound of the traditional Chinese medicine, Epimedium, is commonly used for the clinical treatment of osteoporosis. However, the precise molecular mechanism of the therapeutic effect of icariin has not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of icariin on cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, the amount of calcified nodules, and...

BACKGROUND Several secondary metabolites from herbal nutrient products act as weak estrogens (phytoestrogens), competing with endogenous estrogen for binding to the estrogen receptors and inhibiting steroid converting enzymes. However, it is still unclear whether these compounds elicit estrogen dependent transcription of genes at physiological concentrations. METHODS We compare the effects of...

Endocrine disrupters include a broad spectrum of chemicals such as industrial chemicals, natural estrogens and androgens, synthetic estrogens and androgens. Phytoestrogens are widely present in diet and food supplements; mycoestrogens are frequently found in grains. As human beings and animals are commonly exposed to phytoestrogens and mycoestrogens in diet and environment, it is important to u...

Adenosine receptors (ARs) have an important role in the regulation of inflammation and their activation is involved in the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine release. The effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on inflammation have been reported and we have demonstrated that PEMFs increased A2A and A3AR density and functionality in different cell lines. Chondrocytes and osteoblast...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a key role in tumor progression. The cells undergoing EMT upregulate the expression of cell motility-related proteins and show enhanced migration and invasion. The hallmarks of EMT in cancer cells include changed cell morphology and increased metastatic capabilities in cell migration and invasion. Therefore, prevention of EMT is an important tool fo...