• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.197-201
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• 2007

Genistein is an active component of legumes and other related food shown to be associated with prevention of degenerative diseases such as cancer through inducing signaling pathways. Treatment of genistein resulted in the induction of apoptosis in the cultured cancer cells. This induction of apoptosis was demonstrated by the Tunel assay in these cells. Unveiling the potential of genistein in cytotoxicity via apoptosis when it is treated with estrogen can predict the therapeutic capability of genistein in breast cancers in the presence of endogenous estrogen. We have found that apoptosis induced by genistein treatment in the presence of estrogen is agonistic or antagonistic depending on the concentrations and treatment periods applied in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. For the suppression of cell survival, 24 hr of treatment was required to induce a synergistic agonistic response between estrogen and genistein at low concentrations of genistein. After this period, the agonistic pattern of genistein to estrogen disappeared. The decrement of COX-2 expression in MCF-7 cells treated with genistein was accompanied with the activation of AMPK only at a high concentration of genistein. This association between AMPK activation and down-regulation of COX-2 by genistein was dampened in the presence of estrogen. It was also demonstrated that genistein and estrogen regulate cell survival and apoptosis by modulating p53 and caspase-3 in the opposite direction. These results suggest that genistein has the potential to control breast cancer development, and co-treatment with estrogen can cause agonistic or antagonistic action on breast cancer cell control.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.334-343
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• 1997

This study was performed to elucidate the effects of dietary calcium-salt, estrogen-treatment, and estrogen/calcium treatment on bone metabolism. Ovariectomized rats were used as an animal model. Female Sprague-Dawley rats with a body weight of $250{\sim}280g$ underwent ovariectomy or sham-operation. The ovariectomized rats were divided into 9 different experimental groups including saline-treated group, estrogen-treated group, high calcium salt-treated group, and estrogen/calcium treated groups, and fed the experimental diet for 6 weeks. The mineral content, weight, length, strength and density in femur and scapula of the animals were determined. The results of the experiment are as follows: there were no difference in weight of wet bone, density, length, strength and content of ash in right femur between ovariectomized rat and sham-operation. When the weight of bones was expressed as bone gram per body weight, it was significantly lower in ovariectomized rat than sham-operation. Estrogen and estrogen/calcium in ovariectomized rats resulted in increased weight of wet bone. Estrogen with its gradual reduction in ovariectomized rats showed the lowest values in strength, content of ash, content of calcium and content of phosphorus among the groups. There were no differences in weight of wet hone, density, content of ash, content of calcium and content of phosphorus in right scapula between ovariectomized rat and sham-operation. In addition skeletal composition was not changed by ovariectomy. Estrogen and estrogen/calcium in ovariectomized rats resulted in decreased skeletal composition however, estrogen with its gradual reduction did not caused the skeletal composition change. Moreover, the gradual reduction of estrogen had a preventive effect on bone loss when the treatment was combined with calcium intensification.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.374-385
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• 1998

Phytoestrogens are biologically active compounds derived from plants foods. It had been suggested that phytoestrogens, by inhibiting aromatase in peripheral and/or cancer cells and lowering estrogen levels, may play a protective role as antipromotional compounds during growth of estrogen-dependent cancers. Therefore, simultaneous analysis of estrogens and phytoestrogens is necessary to elucidate the possible involvement of phytoestrogens in estrogen metabolism. In this view, we developed a simple and reproducible procedure to quantitatively determine estrogen and phytoestrogen metabolites. The proposed method consisted of solid phase extraction using preconditioned Serdolit AD-2 resin, enzyme hydrolysis with ${\beta}$-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase from Helix pomatia, liquid-liquid extraction and TMS-ether derivatization. And the final determination was carried out by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). The precision and accuracy of this method was evaluated through within-a-day and day-to-day test. Recovery range and detection limit were 71.96~105.66%, 2~4 ng/mL, respectively. Using this method, 17 estrogen and 5 phytoestrogen compositions in urine of normal subjects were analyzed. It was found that amounts and relative distribution of urinary phytoestrigens and estrogens showed different pattern in male and female subjects.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.613-618
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• 2011

Two key molecules in skeletal tissues are bone formation master transcription factor Runx2 and the steroid hormone estrogen. It is well known that these two molecules play pivotal roles in bone homeostasis; however, the functional interaction between Runx2 and estrogen synthesis in skeletal tissues is largely unknown. Recent studies have indicated that there is a positive relationship between Runx2 and the estrogen biosynthesis pathway. In this review, a possible functional link between Runx2 and estrogen synthesis pathway in skeletal tissues will be discusses as well as the biological significance of this interaction.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.479-486
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• 2004

Phytoestrogens display estrogen-like activity because of their structural similarity to human estrogens and exhibit high affinity binding for the estrogen receptors (ERs). The prevalence of phytoestrogens in our diets and the biological effects that they may cause need to be fully examined. ER is the ancestral receptor from which all other steroid receptors have evolved. Although phytoestrogens serve specific signaling functions between the plants and insects, fungi, and bacteria, many chemical signals are often misinterpreted as estrogenic signals in non-target organisms such as vertebrates. There are no ERs in plants or in their most common partners, insects. However, Rhizobium soil bacteria have NodD proteins which is an intended target of phytoestrogen signaling and share genetic homology with the ER. These two evolutionarily distant receptors both recognize and respond to a shared group of chemical signals and ligands, including both agonists and antagonists. This review briefly summarizes estrogen and estrogen receptors, kinds of important phytoestrogens, their health effects as well as some of the evolutionary aspects of mechanism by which phytoestrogen mimics the endogenous ER signaling in our body.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.3-5
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• 2003

여성호르몬으로 잘 알려진 estrogen은 난소의 granulosa 세포와 정소의 Sertoli 세포에서 주로 생성되는 것으로 알려져 있으며 최근엔 사람의 지방, 근육, 뇌, 뼈세포 등에서의 합성 가능성과 각 조직에서 생성되는 estrogen 의 생리학적인 기능에 관해 많은 관심이 모여져 왔다. 다른 steroid처럼 지방친화적인 (lipophilic) estrogen은 세포막과 핵막을 쉽게 통과하여 목표세포 (target cell)의 핵에 존재하는 estrogen receptor (ER)에 결합하여 특정 유전자를 발현에 관여하는 것으로 알려져 있다. Cytochrome P450 Aromatase (간략히, aromatase)는 steroid hormone을 합성하는 마지막 단계에서 androgens을 estrogens으로 전환시키는데 관여하는 효소이다. Aromatase의 substrate (기질)로 사용되는 androgen에는 androstenedione과 testosterone 등이 있으며, 최종 산물로써 estrone(E1)이나 17$\beta$-estradiol(E2) 등의 estrogen이 생성된다. Aromatase는 steroidogenic tissues의 세포내 골지체에 존재하는 것으로 알려져 있으며, NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase와 함께 복합체로써 존재한다. NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase는 다른 steroid hormone에 관여하는 효소들과도 복합체를 형성하여 다른 steroid hormone을 합성할 수 있으므로, 어떤 조직에서 여성호르몬이 만들어질 수 있느냐 하는 것은 그 조직에서 aromatase 단백질이 만들어지느냐에 따라서 결정된다.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.150-155
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy program on lowering body mass index and serum estrogen in obese post-menopause women. Method: One group Pretest-posttest experimental design was used. All subjects received intervention of aromatherapy program. The participants used 3% grapefruit oil, cypress and three other kinds of oil. BMI and Serum estrogen level of the participants' were measured by ZEUS 9.9(Resource Medical, 2004) and PACKARD Gamma Counter-Cobra II RI Manual(USA, 1997) before and after interventions being applied at the P. hospital. Data were analyzed by paired t-test using the SPSS/PC+Win 12 Version. Result: The level of serum estrogen and BMI of the participants were significantly decreased after aromathetapy program. Conclusion: These results suggest that the effect of aromatheapy program could be utilized as an effective intervention to reduce BMI and serum estrogen level in obese post-menopause women.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.423-426
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• 2013

Females are more often affected by constipation than males, especially during pregnancy, which is related to the menstrual cycle. Although still controversial, alterations of progesterone and estrogen may be responsible. Therefore, this study was conducted in order to determine whether the female sex steroid hormone itself is responsible for development of constipation in both female and male mice. Administration of estrogen resulted in a decrease in weight of accumulated feces on days 2, 3, 4, and 5 in male mice and on day 5 in female mice, compared with the control group, but progesterone administration did not. Administration of estrogen resulted in a decrease in gastrointestinal movement, compared to normal; however, no significant change was observed by administration of progesterone. In conclusion, estrogen, rather than progesterone, may be a detrimental factor of constipation via decreased bowel movement in mice.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.773-776
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• 1974

The authors observed the effect of estrogen and progesterone on the submaxillary glands of female albino rabbits ovariectomized bilaterally. The animals were injected estrogen 25 ㎍ /kg, day intramuscullarly for 1 week, Progesterone was also injected intramuscullarly 0.5 ㎍/kg, day for five days after estrogen injection. After hormone injection, salivary glands were removed under ether anesthesia and the sections were stained with H-E stain for microscopic examination. In the estrogen injected-ovariectomized rabbits, glandular epithelial cells and a part of striated duct cells have high reactivity for hematoxylin and observed the proliferation or hypertrophy of interlobular connective tissues. In the estrogen-progesterone injected group, lesser significant changes than estrogen injected group were observed.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.93-97
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• 2003

Alternative or complementary medicine plays an important role in health care system. Ginseng, being one of the most popular oriental herbs, is believed to contain various steroid hormone activity. Ginseng has been demonstrated pharmacological effect in the cardiovascular, endocrine, central nervous, and immune system. Our objective was to study that total saponin might mediate some of their actions by binding to the steroid hormone receptor, as they share many of the actions of steroid hormone in various physiological system. Using total saponin from Panax Ginseng, we have studied the possibility of total saponin being a potential estrogen receptor, androgen receptor, and retinoic acid receptor ligand. Total saponin activated the transcription of both the estrogen and androgen responsive luciferase reporter plasmids at a concentration of 100$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml in COS cells transiently transfected with the corresponding receptor and hormone responsive receptor plasmids. And total saponin caused a concentration-dependent stimulation of estrogen receptor. Total saponin increased the expression of estrogen responsive c-fos proto-oncogene at the protein level in MCF7 cells at 24 h treatment as examined by Western analysis. The c-fos induction was used as a specific marker of estrogen responsiveness. This activation was inhibited by the specific estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780. However, total saponin failed to activate the retinoic acid receptor in COS cells transiently transfected with the corresponding receptor and retinoic acid responsive reporter plasmids. These results show that total saponin is capable of activating estrogen and androgen receptors.