Journal of Nutrition OpenSOurce Diets- www.ResearchDiets.com

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Röhrdanz, E.
Right arrow Articles by Kahl, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Röhrdanz, E.
Right arrow Articles by Kahl, R.
© 2002 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 132:370-375, 2002


Nutrient-Gene Expression

The Phytoestrogen Daidzein Affects the Antioxidant Enzyme System of Rat Hepatoma H4IIE Cells1

Elke Röhrdanz2, Sandra Ohler, Quynh-Hoa Tran-Thi and Regine Kahl

Institute of Toxicology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

2To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: e.roehrdanz{at}bfarm.de.

Back


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Phytoestrogens such as the soy isoflavonoid daidzein have potential health benefits. The antioxidant properties of phytoestrogens are considered to be responsible in part for their protective effects. The antioxidant enzyme (AOE) system plays an important role in the defense of cells against oxidative insults. To determine whether flavonoids can exert antioxidative effects not only directly but also indirectly by modulating the AOE system, we investigated the influence of the flavonoid daidzein on the expression of different AOE. Daidzein treatment of hepatoma H4IIE cells increased catalase mRNA expression two- to threefold. Expression levels of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) were not affected by exposure to daidzein. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) mRNA expression levels decreased slightly and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels increased slightly after daidzein exposure. Changes in AOE mRNA expression levels were significant at 300 µmol/L daidzein. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the strong increase in catalase mRNA, transfection experiments were performed. Transient transfection of hepatoma cells with reporter plasmids containing different parts of the upstream region of the catalase gene showed a significant one- to threefold increase in reporter gene activity after daidzein exposure. This indicates that daidzein can directly activate the rat catalase promoter region. Despite the increase in catalase mRNA, daidzein pretreatment of cells did not protect against oxidative stress resulting from H2O2 exposure. On the contrary, daidzein itself exerted a mild oxidative stress. In conclusion, the changes in the AOE system provoked by daidzein affected the oxidant rather than the antioxidant properties of daidzein.


KEY WORDS: • antioxidant enzymes • daidzein • expression • hepatoma cell • lipid peroxidation


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Phytoestrogens are a group of naturally occurring diphenolic compounds present in legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. These dietary flavonoids have drawn much attention because there are suggestions that they might benefit human health. High consumption of phytoestrogen-rich food has been linked to a reduced incidence of cancers at different sites including breast, prostate and colon (1Citation –4Citation ). Flavonoids in regularly consumed foods may also reduce the risk of death from coronary heart disease (5Citation ,6Citation ).

Several in vitro and animal studies were undertaken to clarify the biological and physiologic processes that account for the cancer chemoprotective effects of flavonoids. The estrogenic activities of the flavonoids may play an important role in their health-enhancing properties. Flavonoids have been reported to bind to estrogen receptors (ER)3 and prevent cell growth in hormone-dependent cancer cells (1Citation ,7Citation ,8Citation ). Another proposed mechanism for cellular protection is the induction of phase II detoxification enzymes, leading to detoxification of proximate carcinogens generated by phase I metabolism. Indeed, some phytoestrogens were found to induce the phase II enzyme NADPH quinone reductase (9Citation ). In addition to these different modes of action, the protective effects of flavonoids have been attributed mainly to their antioxidant properties. Flavonoids scavenge free radicals, chelate redox-active metal ions and increase metallothionein expression (10Citation –12Citation ). Metallothionein can protect cells from heavy-metal toxicity, but also exerts antioxidant activity.

In the defense against oxidative stress, the antioxidant enzyme (AOE) system of cells plays an important role. The antioxidant enzymes include the superoxide dismutases (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidases (GPx) (13Citation –15Citation ). Catalase and GPx convert H2O2 to H2O and the SOD catalyze the dismutation of the superoxide radical anion. There are three forms of SOD in mammals, i.e., MnSOD located in mitochondria, CuZnSOD found mainly in the cytosol and an extracellular SOD localized in the extracellular fluid.

The expression of AOE can be regulated by oxidative stress (16Citation –19Citation ). Induction of catalase mRNA expression could be elicited by H2O2 or hyperoxia in different mammalian cells (16Citation –18Citation ,20Citation ). MnSOD expression was also found to be selectively induced by inflammatory mediators (21Citation ,22Citation ) as well as oxidative stress provoked either by H2O2 (17Citation ,23Citation ) or the redox-cycling compound paraquat (24Citation ). However, little is known about the influence of flavonoids on the AOE system.

There are many reports relating to the reactivity of flavonoids with active oxygen species, thus emphasizing their antioxidant potential via a direct radical scavenging mechanism (10Citation ,25Citation ). On the other hand, flavonoids were found to induce the expression of enzymes such as metallothionein or NADPH quinone reductase, which may exert protective effects (9Citation ,12Citation ). We wanted to know whether flavonoids also can affect AOE expression, thus exerting indirect antioxidant activities. Therefore, we treated hepatoma cells with the flavonoid daidzein. We investigated the expression of different AOE and concurrently determined whether exposure of cells to daidzein protected against oxidative stress.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Culture of hepatoma cells.

Rat hepatoma H4IIE cells were grown in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (PAA Laboratories, Cölbe, Germany) and human hepatoma HepG2 cells in RPMI (PAA Laboratories) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, penicillin (1 x 105 U/L) and streptomycin (100 mg/L) in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air at 37°C. Cells were seeded in 6-well plates. Unless stated otherwise, cells were treated for 24 h with different concentrations of daidzein, which was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide. The final concentration of the solvent never exceeded 0.7%. Control cells were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide. For the experiments involving H2O2 exposure, cells were pretreated for 24 h with daidzein in different concentrations. Then the medium was changed to one containing 2 mmol/L H2O2, and cells were incubated for another 6 h before malondialdehyde (MDA) measurement.

Viability assay.

To determine the viability of daidzein-treated cells, mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity was measured in the MTT-assay as described elsewhere (26Citation ). Additionally, the Neutral Red assay was performed according to Borenfreund and Puerner (27Citation ).

Lipid peroxidation.

Hepatoma H4IIE cells were pretreated with 200 or 300 µmol/L daidzein for 24 h followed by a 6-h treatment with 2 mmol/L H2O2. The respective controls received no treatment at all, were pretreated with medium and then with 2 mmol/L H2O2 or were given a daidzein pretreatment only. The amount of lipid peroxidation was determined by measuring the release of the breakdown product MDA into the medium. MDA was determined after reaction of cell culture supernatants with thiobarbituric acid and subsequent HPLC as previously described (24Citation ). Measurements were compared with untreated control cells. In further experiments, H4IIE cells were exposed to different concentrations of daidzein only for 24 h and the amount of MDA released into the medium was determined

RNA isolation and RNA analysis.

Total RNA was isolated from cells using Trizol-Reagent (GIBCO BRL, Eggenstein, Germany). For Northern blot analysis, 5 µg of total RNA was resolved by electrophoresis in a 1% agarose, 2.25 mmol/L formaldehyde gel in a running buffer containing 20 mmol/L MOPS, pH 7, 0.5 mmol/L sodium acetate and 1 mmol/L EDTA. RNA was transferred to nylon membrane (Amersham, Arlington Height, IL) according to Maniatis et al. (28Citation ) Purified cDNAs were labeled with [{alpha}32P] dCTP (111 TBq/mmol, Hartmann Analytic, Braunschweig, Germany) by random hexamer priming (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Blots were prehybridized and hybridized with cDNAs for rat catalase, CuZnSOD and 18 S rRNA as described previously (24Citation ). Autoradiographs were made by exposing blots to X-ray film (Kodak XAR) with an intensifying screen at -80°C. Blots were stripped and reprobed with the different cDNAs. Autoradiographs were analyzed by densitometric scanning using the Quantity One system from BIO RAD, Munich, Germany.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after reverse transcription was performed for semiquantitative determination of MnSOD and glutathione peroxidase mRNA. Total RNA (1 µg) was transcribed into cDNA in a 25-µL final volume of reaction buffer (50 mmol/L Tris-HCL, 75 mmol/L KCL, 3 mmol/L MgCl2, 10 mmol/L dithiothreitol, 0.5 mmol/L of each dNTP) and 5 µmol/L oligo-d(T)16-primer, 1 U RNase inhibitor and 2.5 U MLV reverse transcriptase by incubation for 1 h at 42°C. The reaction was stopped by incubation at 99°C for 5 min. For rat MnSOD and GPx, PCR was performed with 100 ng of the synthesized cDNA as described elsewhere (29Citation ,30Citation ). GAPDH PCR was performed with 100 ng synthesized cDNA according to El-Bahay et al. (31Citation ) The amplified PCR products were 394 bp for MnSOD mRNA, 602 bp for GPx mRNA and 450 bp for GAPDH mRNA. The conditions of PCR were set to be in the linear phase of amplification to allow for semiquantification of mRNA content. From each PCR reaction, 5 µL was electrophoresed in a 1% agarose gel in Tris-borate-EDTA buffer. The cDNA bands were visualized by UV illumination after the gels were stained with ethidium bromide. Gels were photographed and scanned densitometrically.

Transfection and reporter gene assays.

To evaluate the transcriptional control of the catalase gene, deletion plasmids were constructed from a plasmid containing 1.1 kb of the rat catalase upstream sequence (-1072 bp to +54 bp of transcription initiation site) in front of a luciferase expression vector (18Citation ). The different promoter-reporter constructs of the catalase upstream region in front of the luciferase vector are shown in Figure 4Citation .



View larger version (29K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 4. Promoter-activity of pLuc1, pLuc(-)2 and pLuc2 after exposure to daidzein. HepG2 cells were transfected as described. Twenty-four hours after transfection, cells were treated with 50 or 100 µmol/L daidzein for another 24 h. Luciferase assays were conducted in treated and untreated cells. Luciferase activity values are shown as a percentage of controls (pLuc1 control = 0.77 ± 0.29, pLuc(-)2 control = 0.17 ± 0.10, pLuc2 control = 0.23 ± 0.05). Values are means ± SEM, n = 4–6 different experiments; *P < 0.05 vs. controls, {ddagger}P < 0.05 vs. pLuc1 treated with 50 µmol/L daidzein.

 
HepG2 cells were transiently transfected at 50–70% confluency by a modified calcium phosphate precipitation method followed by glycerol shock as previously described (32Citation ). Transfection cells were given fresh media 2–3 h before. Each well was cotransfected with 4 µg of a plasmid containing the luciferase reporter-construct and a plasmid containing the ß-galactosidase gene driven by the SV40 promoter (Promega, Mannheim, Germany). After 24 h, transfection cells were treated with 50 or 100 µmol/L daidzein for another 24 h. For harvesting, the cells were washed twice with 1 x PBS and then lysed in cell culture lysis buffer (Promega). Protein concentration of the cellular extract was determined according to Bradford (33Citation ), using bovine serum albumin as standard. Cellular protein (10 µg) was used for luciferase assays. Luciferase activity was determined with a Multi-Biolumat LB 9505 C (Berthold, Bad Wildbad, Germany) using luciferase assay reagent according to the manufacturer’s protocol (Promega). With every transfection assay pGL3-basic and pGL3-control plasmid (Promega), containing SV 40 promoter and enhancer sequences, were transfected separately to additionally control for transfection efficiency. ß-Galactosidase activity was determined at 420 nm with o-nitrophenyl ß-D-galactopyranoside as substrate (28Citation ). To minimize variability due to the difference in transfection efficiency among plates, the activity of luciferase and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase was corrected on the basis of the activity of ß-galactosidase.

Statistical methods.

Results are expressed as means ± SEM. Significance was evaluated by ANOVA followed by Fisher’s Protected Least Significant Difference test. A probability of P < 0.05 was used as the criterion for significant difference.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Cytotoxicity.

The cytotoxicity of daidzein was determined with two different assays (data not shown). In H4IIE cells, the MTT assay was more sensitive than the Neutral Red assay. According to the MTT test, cytotoxicity was apparent with 200 µmol/L daidzein. There was a significant reduction in viable cells of ~24%. This increased to 30% with 300 µmol/L daidzein and to 54% with 500 µmol/L daidzein. With the Neutral Red assay, cytotoxicity of daidzein became apparent (40% dead cells) and was significant when cells were exposed to 500 µmol/L daidzein.

Effect of daidzein on AOE expression in H4IIE cells.

H4IIE cells were grown to confluency and then treated with different concentrations of daidzein for 24 h. Figure 1ACitation shows the Northern blots for catalase and CuZnSOD mRNA expression and Figure 1Citation B the densitometric data relative to 18 S rRNA for catalase mRNA expression. In Figure 2ACitation , the PCR for detection of MnSOD and GPx is depicted and in Figure 2Citation B, the densitometric data relative to GAPDH mRNA expression. Daidzein treatment led to an increase of catalase mRNA expression (Fig. 1Citation B). With 300 µmol/L daidzein, a threefold increase in catalase mRNA levels was detected. With 300 µmol/L daidzein, we found a 100% increase in catalase activity (data not shown, mean of two experiments). On the basis of the Neutral Red assay, daidzein was not cytotoxic in this concentration range, whereas the MTT assay indicated minor cytotoxicity of daidzein with 24–30% dead cells. CuZnSOD mRNA expression was not affected by daidzein exposure; thus densitometric data are not shown. There was a slight, but significant 20% decrease in MnSOD mRNA expression after exposure of cells to 300 µmol/L daidzein (Fig. 2Citation B). An increase of ~40% in Gpx mRNA expression generally occurred at all concentrations of daidzein tested except 200 µmol/L, and this difference was significant only at the highest concentration of daidzein, 300 µmol/L (Fig. 2Citation B).



View larger version (37K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 1. Catalase and copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) mRNA expression in H4IIE cells after daidzein exposure. (A) Northern blot analysis of catalase and CuZnSOD mRNA. Cells were exposed to the indicated concentrations of daidzein for 24 h. Northern blot analysis was carried out using rat catalase and CuZnSOD cDNAs as probes, n = 3–6 individual experiments. (B) Quantitative densitometric data for catalase mRNA expression levels quantitated relative to 18 S rRNA levels shown at the bottom of (A). The results are expressed as a percentage of control (control = 0.77 ± 0.41). Values are means ± SEM, n = 3–6 different experiments; *P < 0.05 vs. controls.

 


View larger version (33K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 2. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) mRNA expression in H4IIE cells after daidzein exposure. (A) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) blot of GPx, GAPDH and MnSOD mRNAs obtained by reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR after exposure of H4IIE cells to the indicated concentrations of daidzein for 24 h. (B) GPx/GAPDH and MnSOD/GAPDH quotient after densitometric scanning of PCR blots obtained after RT-PCR shown in (A). Values are expressed as a percentage of controls (GPx/GAPDH control = 0.82 ± 0.17; MnSOD/GAPDH control = 4.07 ± 0.53). Values are means ± SEM, n = 3–4 different experiments; *P < 0.05 vs. controls.

 
Influence of daidzein on the transcriptional activity of the catalase reporter gene constructs.

The promoter-reporter constructs for the catalase gene, as shown in Figure 3Citation , were transiently transfected into Hep G2 cells. Cells were then treated with different concentrations of daidzein for 24 h. In all of the experiments, the nontreated promoter-reporter constructs showed basal activity compared with the pGL3-basic plasmid. Figure 4Citation shows the luciferase activity of the transfected constructs after exposure to 50 or 100 µmol/L daidzein. In all promoter-reporter constructs tested, daidzein increased luciferase activity from one- to threefold. Interestingly, the promoter construct containing the whole 1.1-kb upstream region showed significantly lower inducible activity at a concentration of 50 µmol/L daidzein than the deletion constructs. The greatest increase in luciferase activity was observed for pLuc(-)2, which was about threefold after treatment of cells with 50 µmol/L daidzein.



View larger version (10K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 3. Promoter-reporter constructs of the 5'-flanking region of the rat catalase gene and the luciferase plasmid. Putative silencer elements and possible binding sites of different transcription factors are also shown (53Citation ,54Citation ).

 
Lipid peroxidation.

To determine whether the increase in catalase mRNA expression levels by daidzein exposure may exert antioxidant effects, H4IIE cells were pretreated with different concentrations of daidzein followed by a treatment with 2 mmol/L H2O2. The extent of lipid peroxidation was determined by measuring the release of the breakdown product MDA into the medium (Fig. 5ACitation ). Treatment with 2 mmol/L H2O2 increased MDA levels only ~3 times compared with controls. Daidzein pretreated cells were not protected from H2O2. On the contrary, MDA levels increased ~4 times in these cells compared with controls and compared with the cells treated with H2O2 only. Treatment with 300 µmol/L daidzein alone increased MDA levels ~50% compared with controls. Further experiments (Fig. 5Citation B) were performed to confirm this effect of daidzein on MDA levels. H4IIE cells were exposed to different concentrations of daidzein and the amount of MDA released into the medium was determined. An increase in MDA levels of ~50% was detected in H4IIE cell supernatants treated with 200 or 500 µmol/L daidzein.



View larger version (33K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Figure 5. Formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in H4IIE cells after treatment with daidzein. (A) Cells were incubated with the indicated concentrations of daidzein for 24 h. The medium was changed to medium containing 2 mmol/L H2O2 and cells were incubated for another 6 h. The amount of MDA released into the medium was determined. The results are expressed as a percentage of controls exposed to medium only (control = 113 ± 19 pmol MDA/106 cells). Values are means ± SEM, n = 4 different experiments, *P < 0.05 vs. controls with no treatment; {ddagger}P < 0.05 vs. cells treated with 2 mmol/L H2O2 only. (B) Cells were incubated with the indicated concentrations of daidzein for 24 h and the amount of MDA released into the medium was determined. The results are expressed as a percentage of controls (control = 188 ± 30 pmol MDA/106 cells). Values are means ± SEM, n = 4 different experiments; *P < 0.05 vs. controls.

 

    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 
The influence of phytoestrogens on the AOE system has not yet been investigated in detail. We treated rat liver hepatoma H4IIE cells with the isoflavonoid daidzein. H4IIE cells contained high levels of AOE and induction of AOE through oxidative stress has been shown previously in H4IIE cells (17Citation ); thus, they present a good model for these investigations.

The cytotoxicity of daidzein was measured with two different assays. The two highest concentrations of daidzein used for the evaluation of AOE expression levels were slightly cytotoxic in the MTT assay but nontoxic in the Neutral Red assay. The Neutral Red assay determines membrane uptake, whereas the MTT assay shows mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (26Citation ,27Citation ). Obviously mitochondrial functions were first impaired by daidzein treatment, before a marked damage of cell membranes and thus the destruction of the whole cell became evident.

Daidzein treatment of hepatoma cells dramatically increased catalase mRNA expression. Kameoka et al. (12Citation ) investigated catalase and CuZnSOD expression after daidzein treatment of CaCo2-cells and found no change in the expression pattern of either enzyme. This may have been due to the differences in cell lines because basal as well as inducible mRNA expression levels of AOE may differ depending on the cell type investigated (16Citation ,22Citation ,34Citation ). To further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the increase in catalase mRNA by daidzein, we performed transfection experiments. Transfection of hepatoma cells with reporter genes containing different parts of the rat catalase upstream region and subsequent exposure to daidzein always resulted in an increase in reporter gene activity of treated compared with nontreated cells. These results clearly indicate that the increase of catalase mRNA after daidzein treatment is due to transcriptional activation of the rat catalase promoter. Little is known about transcriptional activation of the catalase gene. In general, post-transcriptional processes were found to be important for regulation of catalase gene expression. A redox-sensitive RNA binding protein was described for rat lung, which acts by increasing RNA stability (19Citation ). In previous experiments, we found catalase gene induction to be regulated transcriptionally in hepatoma cells, whereas in hepatocytes, a translational mechanism was assumed (17Citation ).

Isoflavonoids interact with ER. For daidzein, a stronger interaction with the ß- than the {alpha}-subtype of the ER was shown (7Citation ,35Citation ). Similar in vitro interactions of phytoestrogens with human and rat ER{alpha} and ERß have been reported, indicating that ER react similarly to phytoestrogens in the two species (7Citation ,35Citation ,36Citation ). Azevedo et al. (37Citation ) even found regulation of AOE to be dependent on sex steroids. Hepatoma cells such as those used for our experiments, however, are ER-negative, especially for later passages (38Citation ). Thus, a transcriptional activation of the catalase promoter via ER interactions can be excluded.

To determine whether the increase in catalase expression protects the cells from oxidative damage, cells were pretreated with daidzein and then exposed to H2O2. Unexpectedly, in daidzein-pretreated cells, the oxidative damage, as measured via the lipid peroxidation product MDA, was more distinct than in cells treated with H2O2 only. Changes in the AOE mRNA expression pattern resulting from daidzein pretreatment may have led to an imbalance in the concerted action of the different AOE. This may have rendered the cells more sensitive toward the oxidative stress provoked by hydrogen peroxide treatment. Daidzein itself caused a mild oxidative stress. The antioxidant or prooxidant potential of flavonoids is a controversial topic in the literature (10Citation ,39Citation ). Increasing levels of daidzein were found to inhibit LDL oxidation in vitro (40Citation ). Daidzein also protected against lecithin peroxidation induced by the superoxide anion generated through the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system (41Citation ). On the other hand, in rat liver microsomes, daidzein was not able to inhibit enzymatically induced lipid peroxidation (42Citation ). Hodgson et al. (43Citation ) also found no in vivo antioxidant activity of daidzein. A number of flavonoids are able to produce reactive oxygen species by autoxidation and redox-cycling (44Citation ). Similar mechanisms may be responsible for the oxidative stress we observed.

Oxidative stress was found to upregulate catalase mRNA expression in different cell lines as well as in neonatal rats under hyperoxic conditions (16Citation ,19Citation ). Different regulatory elements that play a role in the regulation of genes after oxidative stress have been identified (45Citation ,46Citation ). No consensus sequences of these well-described transcripton factors can be found in the catalase upstream region (see Fig. 4Citation ). A putative AP2-sequence and a sequence resembling the binding site of the antioxidant responsive element are the only elements identified by sequence comparison so far. The truncated catalase-reporter-constructs showed a higher inducible reporter gene activity after exposure to 50 µmol/L daidzein than did the complete construct. Perhaps gene activity is suppressed by silencer elements present in the whole construct; such possible silencers were described by Takeuchi et al. (47Citation )

In addition to catalase, we also found an increase in GPx mRNA expression levels, which was not as distinct. In the 5'-flanking region of the human GPx gene, two cis-acting elements were characterized, which are of importance for gene regulation in an oxidative environment (48Citation ). These elements were found to be active in human cardiomyocytes and HeLa cell cultures. The rat GPx gene likely is regulated similarly in H4IIE cells.

Surprisingly, there was a slight decrease in MnSOD mRNA expression after daidzein exposure. Induction of the MnSOD gene by tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} and oxidative stress has been described in several studies (49Citation ,50Citation ). Daidzein is an efficient inhibitor of casein kinase II, which phosphorylates nuclear oncogene products and a number of proteins involved in gene expression (51Citation ). It is possible that daidzein interferes with signal transduction pathways important for transcription of MnSOD.

In addition, CuZnSOD mRNA expression was not regulated coordinately with catalase and GPx expression. After daidzein exposure, no changes in CuZnSOD mRNA expression levels were detected. In previous studies, we (17Citation ) and others (23Citation ,52Citation ) found that CuZnSOD often showed a stable expression pattern despite changes in the other AOE after exposure to different oxidants. This differential regulation of AOE expression is displayed after daidzein exposure as well.

In conclusion, our experiments showed that daidzein affected the AOE expression pattern. Interestingly, these changes did not add to the antioxidant, but rather to the oxidant properties of daidzein. The possible effect of phytoestrogens on human health may also be linked to the AOE system; as such, our in vitro studies suggest possible mechanisms of daidzein action. Further investigations will show whether daidzein has similar effects on the AOE system in vivo. Therefore, when evaluating the antioxidant capacity of flavonoids their ability to modulate AOE expression should also be considered.


    FOOTNOTES
 
1 Presented in part at the Drug Metabolism Workshop of the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics held June 11–16, 2000, St. Andrews, Scotland [Röhrdanz, E., Ohler, S. & Kahl, R. (2000) Influence of daidzein on catalase gene expression. Drug Metab. Rev. 32: VII-VIII (abs.)]. Back

3 Abbreviations used: AOE, antioxidant enzyme; CuZnSOD, copper zinc superoxide dismutase; ER, estrogen receptor; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; MDA, malondialdehyde; MnSOD, manganese superoxide dismutase; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; SOD, superoxide dismutase. Back

Manuscript received 30 August 2001. Initial review completed 3 October 2001. Revision accepted 14 December 2001.


    LITERATURE CITED
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 LITERATURE CITED
 

1. Adlercreutz, H., Mousavi, Y., Clark, J., Höckerstedt, K., Hämäläinen, E., Wählälä, K., Mäkela, T. & Hase, T. (1992) Dietary phytooestrogens and cancer: in vitro and in vivo studies. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 41:331-337.[Medline]

2. Lee, H. P., Gourley, L., Duffy, S. W., Esteve, J., Lee, J. & Day, N. E. (1991) Dietary effects on breast-cancer risk in Singapore. Lancet 337:1197-1200.[Medline]

3. Severson, R. K., Nomura, A.M.Y., Grove, J. S. & Stemmermann, G. N. (1989) A prospective study of demographics, diet, and prostate cancer among men of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii. Cancer Res 49:1857-1860.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4. Jenab, M. & Thompson, L. U. (1996) The influence of flaxseed and lignans on colon carcinogenesis and ß-glucuronidase activity. Carcinogenesis 17:1343-1348.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

5. Hertog, M.G.L., Kromhout, D., Aravanis, C., Blackburn, H., Buzina, R., Fidanza, F., Giampaoli, S., Jansen, A., Menotti, A., Nedeljikovic, S., Pekkarinen, M., Simic, B. S., Toshima, H., Feskens, E.J.M., Hollman, P.C.H. & Katan, M. B. (1995) Flavonoid intake and long-term risk of coronary heart disease and cancer in the seven countries study. Arch. Intern. Med. 155:381-386.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

6. Goodman-Gruen, D. & Kritz-Silverstein, D. (2001) Usual dietary isoflavone intake is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors in postmenopausal women. J. Nutr. 131:1202-1206.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

7. Morito, K., Hirose, T., Kinjo, J., Hirakawa, T., Okawa, M., Nohara, T., Ogawa, S., Inoue, S., Muramatsu, M. & Masamune, Y. (2001) Interaction of phytoestrogens with estrogen receptors {alpha} and ß. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 24:351-356.[Medline]

8. Dixon-Shanies, D. & Shaikh, N. (1999) Growth inhibition of human cancer cells by herbs and phytoestrogens. Oncol. Rep. 6:1383-1387.[Medline]

9. Wang, W., Liu, L. Q., Higuchi, C. M. & Chen, H. (1998) Induction of NADPH: quinone reductase by dietary phytoestrogens in colonic Colo205 cells. Biochem. Pharmacol. 56:189-195.[Medline]

10. Sichel, G., Corsaro, C., Scalia, M., Di Bilio, A. J. & Bonomo, R. P. (1991) In vitro scavenger activity of some flavonoids and melanins against O2-. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 11:1-8.[Medline]

11. Morel, I., Lescoat, G., Cogrel, P., Sergent, O., Pasdeloup, N., Brissot, P., Cillard, P. & Cillar, J. (1993) Antioxidant and iron-chelating activities of the flavonoids catechin, quercetin, and diosmetin on iron-loaded rat hepatocyte cultures. Biochem. Pharmacol. 45:13-19.[Medline]

12. Kameoka, S., Leavitt, P., Chang, C. & Kuo, S.-M. (1999) Expression of antioxidant proteins in human intestinal Caco-2 cells treated with dietary flavonoids. Cancer Lett 146:161-167.[Medline]

13. McCord, J. M. (1979) Superoxide, superoxide dismutase and oxygen toxicity. Hodgson, E. Bend, J. R. Philpot, R. M. eds. Reviews in Biochemical Toxicology 1979:109-124 Elsevier Amsterdam, The Netherlands. .

14. Aebi, H. (1984) Catalase in vitro. Methods Enzymol 105:121-126.[Medline]

15. Ursini, F., Maiorino, M., Brigelius-Flohé, R., Aumann, K. D., Roveri, A., Schomburg, D. & Flohé, L. (1995) Diversity of glutathione peroxidases. Methods Enzymol 252:38-114.[Medline]

16. Tate, D. J., Jr, Miceli, M. V. & Newsome, D. A. (1990) Phagocytosis and H2O2 induce catalase and metallothionein gene expression in human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Investig. Ophtalmol. Vis. Sci. 36:2856-2864.

17. Röhrdanz, E. & Kahl, R. (1998) Alterations of antioxidant enzyme expression in response to hydrogen peroxide. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 24:27-38.[Medline]

18. Röhrdanz, E., Schmuck, G., Ohler, S. & Kahl, R. (2001) The influence of oxidative stress on catalase and MnSOD gene transcription in astrocytes. Brain Res 900:128-136.[Medline]

19. Clerch, L. B. & Massaro, D. (1992) Oxidation-reduction-sensitive binding of lung protein to rat catalase mRNA. J. Biol. Chem. 267:2853-2855.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

20. Clerch, L. B. & Massaro, D. (1990) Perinatal rat lung catalase gene expression: influence of corticosteroid and hyperoxia. Am. J. Physiol. 260:L428-L433.

21. Visner, G. A., Dougall, W. C., Wilson, J. M., Burr, I. A. & Nick, H. S. (1990) Regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase by lipopolysaccharide, interleukin-1, and tumor necrosis factor. J. Biol. Chem. 265:2856-2864.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

22. Wong, G.H.W. & Goeddel, D. V. (1988) Induction of manganous superoxide dismutase by tumor necrosis factor: possible protective mechanism. Science (Washington DC) 242:941-944.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

23. Yoshioka, T., Homma, T., Meyrick, B., Takeda, M., Moore-Jarett, T., Kon, V. & Ichikawa, I. (1994) Oxidants induce transcriptional activation of manganese superoxide dismutase in glomerular cells. Kidney Int 46:405-413.[Medline]

24. Röhrdanz, E., Obertrifter, B., Ohler, S. & Kahl, R. (2000) Influence of adriamycin and paraquat on antioxidant enzyme expression in primary rat hepatocytes. Arch. Toxicol. 74:231-237.[Medline]

25. Hanashi, Y., Ogawa, S. & Fukui, S. (1994) The correlation between active oxygen scavenging and antioxidative effects of flavonoids. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 16:845-850.[Medline]

26. Mosmann, T. (1983) Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: application to proliferation and cytotoxicity assays. J. Immunol. Methods 65:55-63.[Medline]

27. Borenfreund, E. & Puerner, J. A. (1985) Toxicity determined in vitro by morphological alterations and neutral red absorption. Toxicol. Lett. 24:119-124.[Medline]

28. Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E. F. & Sambrook, J. (1982) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual 1982 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory New York, NY. .

29. Röhrdanz, E., Schmuck, G., Ohler, S., Tran-Thi, Q.-H. & Kahl, R. (2001) Changes in antioxidant enzyme expression in response to hydrogen peroxide in rat astroglial cells. Arch. Toxicol. 75:150-158.[Medline]

30. Springer, L. N., Tilly, J. L., Sipes, I. G. & Hoyer, P. B. (1996) Enhanced expression of bax in small preantral follicles during 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide-induced ovotoxicity in the rat. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 139:402-410.[Medline]

31. El-Bahay, C., Gerber, E., Horbach, M., Tran-Thi, Q.-H. & Röhrdanz, E. (1999) Influence of tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} and silibin on the cytotoxic action of {alpha}-amanitin in rat hepatocyte culture. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 158:253-260.[Medline]

32. Gorman, C. M., Moffat, L. F. & Howard, B. H. (1982) Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells. Mol. Cell. Biol. 2:1044-1051.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

33. Bradford, M. M. (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem. 72:248-254.[Medline]

34. Yoo, J.-H., Erzurum, S. C., Hay, J. G., Lemarchand, P. & Crystal, R. G. (1994) Vulnerability of the human airway epithelium to hyperoxia. J. Clin. Investig. 93:297-302.

35. Casanova, M., You, L., Gaido, K. W., Archibeque-Engle, S., Janszen, D. B. & Heck, d’A. H. (1999) Developmental effects of dietary phytoestrogens in Sprague-Dawley rats and interactions of genistein and daidzein with rat estrogen receptors {alpha} and ß in vitro. Toxicol. Sci. 51:236-244.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

36. Nikov, G. N., Hopkins, N. E., Boue, S. & Alworth, W. L. (2000) Interactions of dietary estrogens with human estrogen receptors and the effect on estrogen receptor-estrogen response element complex formation. Environ. Health Perspect. 108:867-872.[Medline]

37. Azevedo, R. B., Lacava, Z.G.M., Miyasaka, C. K., Chaves, S. B. & Curi, R. (2001) Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 34:683-687.

38. Archer, T. K., Tam, S. P., Deugau, K. V. & Deeley, R. G. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260:1676-1681.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

39. Van Acker, S.A.B.E., de Groot, M. J., van den Berg, D.-J., Tromp, M.N.J.L., Donné-Op den Kelder, G., van der Vijgh, W.J.F. & Bast, A. (1996) A quantum chemical explanation of the antioxidant activity of flavonoids. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 9:1305-1312.[Medline]

40. Hwang, J., Sevanian, A., Hodis, H. N. & Ursini, F. (2000) Synergistic inhibition of LDL oxidation by phytoestrogens and ascorbic acid. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 29:79-89.[Medline]

41. Toda, S. & Shirataki, Y. (1999) Inhibitory effects of isoflavones on lipid peroxidation by reactive oxygen species. Phytother. Res. 13:163-165.[Medline]

42. Sato, T., Kawamoto, A., Tamura, A., Tatsumi, Y. & Fujii, T. (1992) Mechanism of antioxidant action of pueraria glycoside (PG)-1 (an isoflavonoid) and magniferin (a xanthonoid). Chem. Pharm. Bull. 40:721-724.

43. Hodgson, J. M., Puddey, I. B., Croft, K. D., Mori, T. A., Rivera, J. & Beilin, L. J. (1999) Isoflavonoids do not inhibit in vivo lipid peroxidation in subjects with high-normal blood pressure. Atherosclerosis 145:167-172.[Medline]

44. Canada, A. T., Giannella, E., Nguyen, T. D. & Mason, R. P. (1990) The production of reactive oxygen species by dietary flavonols. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 9:441-449.[Medline]

45. Baeuerle, P. A. (1991) The inducible transcription activator NF-{kappa}B: regulation by distinct protein subunits. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1072:63-80.[Medline]

46. Rushmore, T. H., Morton, M. R. & Pickett, C. B. (1991) The antioxidant responsive element. Activation by oxidative stress and identification of the DNA consensus sequence required for functional activity. J. Biol. Chem. 266:11632-11639.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

47. Takeuchi, T., Nakamura, S., Kayasuga, A., Isa, S. & Sato, K. (2000) Multiple elements for negative regulation of the rat catalase gene expression in dedifferentiated hepatoma cells. J. Biochem. 128:1025-1031.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

48. Cowan, D. B., Weisel, R. D., Williams, W. G. & Mickle, D.A.G. (1993) Identification of oxygen responsive elements in the 5'-flanking region of the human glutathione peroxidase gene. J. Biol. Chem. 268:26904-26910.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

49. Kuo, S., Cheswron, S. E., Mellott, J. K., Rogers, R. J., Hsu, J.-L. & Nick, H. S. (1999) In vivo architecture of the manganese superoxide dismutase promoter. J. Biol. Chem. 274:3345-3354.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

50. Xu, Y., Kiningham, K. K., Devalaraja, M. N., Yeh, C.-C., Majima, H., Kasarskis, E. J. & St Clair, D. K. (1999) An intronic NF-{kappa}B element is essential for induction of the human manganese superoxide dismutase gene by tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} and interleukin-1ß. DNA Cell Biol 18:709-722.[Medline]

51. Allende, J. E. & Allende, C. C. (1995) Protein kinases. 4. Protein kinase CH2: an enzyme with multiple substrates and a puzzling regulation. FASEB J. 9:313-323.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

52. Dougall, W. C. & Nick, H. S. (1991) Manganese superoxide dismutase: a hepatic acute phase protein regulated by interleukin-6 and glucocorticoids. Endocrinology 129:2376-2384.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

53. Toda, S., Takeuchi, T., Hori, N. & Sato, K. (1997) Inverted repeats in the TATA-less promoter of the rat catalase gene. J. Biochem. 121:1035-1040.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

54. Van Remmen, H., Williams, M. D., Yang, H., Walter, C. A. & Richardson, A. (1998) Analysis of the transcriptional activity of the 5'-flanking region of the rat catalase gene in transiently transfected cells and transgenic mice. J. Cell. Physiol. 174:18-26.[Medline]




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Nutr.Home page
H. E. C. Hanwell, C. D. Kay, J. W. Lampe, B. J. Holub, and A. M. Duncan
Acute Fish Oil and Soy Isoflavone Supplementation Increase Postprandial Serum (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Isoflavones but Do Not Affect Triacylglycerols or Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Overweight and Obese Hypertriglyceridemic Men
J. Nutr., June 1, 2009; 139(6): 1128 - 1134.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Cardiovasc ResHome page
Y.-J. Gao, K. Takemori, L.-Y. Su, W.-S. An, C. Lu, A. M. Sharma, and R. M.K.W. Lee
Perivascular adipose tissue promotes vasoconstriction: the role of superoxide anion
Cardiovasc Res, July 15, 2006; 71(2): 363 - 373.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Röhrdanz, E.
Right arrow Articles by Kahl, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Röhrdanz, E.
Right arrow Articles by Kahl, R.


Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Copyright © 2002 by American Society for Nutrition