Genistein inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of MCF-7 and 3T3-L1 cells via the regulation of ERα expression and induction of apoptosis

Choi,Eun Jeong; Jung,Jae Yeon; Kim,Gun-Hee

doi:10.3892/etm.2014.1771

Genistein inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of MCF-7 and 3T3-L1 cells via the regulation of ERα expression and induction of apoptosis

Authors:
- Eun Jeong Choi
- Jae Yeon Jung
- Gun-Hee Kim
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Affiliations: Plant Resources Research Institute, Duksung Women's University, Seoul 132-714, Republic of Korea
Published online on: June 10, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2014.1771
Pages: 454-458

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Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of the phytochemical genistein on the proliferation and differentiation of MCF-7 and 3T3-L1 cells via the regulation of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) expression and the induction of apoptosis. When MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were treated with 50, 100, 150 and 200 µM genistein for 24, 48 or 72 h, cell growth was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. Notably, the patterns of ERα expression and proliferation in MCF-7 cells treated with genistein were similar. Furthermore, ERα expression in differentiating 3T3-L1 cells was significantly inhibited by 48 h treatment with 50 µM genistein, which was selected based on the results of cytotoxicity assays on 3T3-L1 preadipocytes [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol‑2-yl)‑2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability assays]. Under the same conditions, genistein‑induced apoptotic features were observed in MCF-7 and differentiating 3T3-L1 cells. This observation is supported by the finding that B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression was reduced while that of Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) was induced by genistein. The results of the present study suggest that an ERα-related pathway and the induction of apoptosis are involved in the proliferation of MCF-7 cells and the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells.

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