Indole-3-carbinol (13C) is a secondary plant metabolite produced in vegetables of the Brassica genus, including cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. I3C is both an anti-initiator and a promoter of carcinogenesis. Consumption of 13C by humans and rodents can lead to marked increases in activities ofcytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases and in a variety ofphase II drug-metabolizing enzymes. We have reported previously that the enzyme-inducing activity of 13C is mediated through a mechanism requiring exposure of the compound to the low-pH environment of the stomach. We report here the aromatic hydrocarbon responsiveness-receptor Kd values (22 nM-90 nM), determined with C57BL/6J mouse liver cytosol and the in vitro-and in vivo-molar yields (0.1-6%) of the major acid condensation products of 13C. We also show that indolo[3,2-b]carbazole (ICZ) is produced from 13C in yields on the order of 0.01% in vitro and, after oral intubation, in vivo. ICZ has a Kd of 190 pM for aromatic hydrocarbon responsiveness-receptor binding and an EC50 of 269 nM for induction of cytochrome P4501A1, as measured by ethoxyresorufm O-deethylase activity in murine hepatoma Hepa lclc7 cells. The binding affinity of ICZ is only a factor of 3.7 X 10-2 lower than that of the highly toxic environmental contaminant and cancer promoter 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. ICZ and related condensation products appear responsible for the enzyme-inducing effects of dietary 13C.
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring component of Brassica vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, has been shown to reduce the incidence of spontaneous and carcinogen-induced mammary tumors. Treatment of cultured human MCF7 breast cancer cells with I3C reversibly suppresses the incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine without affecting cell viability or estrogen receptor (ER) responsiveness. Flow cytometry of propidium iodide-stained cells revealed that I3C induces a G 1 cell cycle arrest. Concurrent with the I3C-induced growth inhibition, Northern blot and Western blot analyses demonstrated that I3C selectively abolished the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, I3C inhibited the endogenous retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation and CDK6 phosphorylation of retinoblastoma in vitro to the same extent. After the MCF7 cells reached their maximal growth arrest, the levels of the p21 and p27 CDK inhibitors increased by 50%. The antiestrogen tamoxifen also suppressed MCF7 cell DNA synthesis but had no effect on CDK6 expression, while a combination of I3C and tamoxifen inhibited MCF7 cell growth more stringently than either agent alone. The I3C-mediated cell cycle arrest and repression of CDK6 production were also observed in estrogen receptor-deficient MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells, which demonstrates that this indole can suppress the growth of mammary tumor cells independent of estrogen receptor signaling. Thus, our observations have uncovered a previously undefined antiproliferative pathway for I3C that implicates CDK6 as a target for cell cycle control in human breast cancer cells. Moreover, our results establish for the first time that CDK6 gene expression can be inhibited in response to an extracellular antiproliferative signal.Considerable epidemiological evidence suggests that high vegetable diets correlate with low breast cancer risk (1, 2). This phenomenon is likely due to the diverse spectrum of dietary and environmental compounds that can regulate the function and proliferation of mammalian cells by influencing hormone receptor signal transduction pathways (3, 4). Several classes of these naturally occurring hormone-like chemicals have been implicated in the control of tumor cell growth and as chemopreventative agents. One such substance is the dietary compound indole-3-carbinol (I3C), 1 an autolysis product of a glucosinolate, glucobrassicin, which occurs in Brassica vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts (5, 6). A recent screen of 90 potential chemopreventative agents in a series of six short term bioassays relevant to carcinogen-induced DNA damage, oxidative stress, and tumor initiation and promotion, revealed I3C to be one of only eight compounds effective in all assays (7). Several studies have shown that exposure to dietary I3C markedly reduces the incidence of spontaneous and carcinogen-induced mammary tumors in rodents (8, 9). For example, I3C administered in the diet or by oral intubation pr...
After the Women's Health Initiative found that the risks of hormone therapy outweighed the benefits, a need for alternative drugs to treat menopausal symptoms has emerged. We explored the possibility that botanical agents used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for menopausal symptoms contain ERbeta-selective estrogens. We previously reported that an extract containing 22 herbs, MF101 has ERbeta-selective properties. In this study we isolated liquiritigenin, the most active estrogenic compound from the root of Glycyrrhizae uralensis Fisch, which is one of the plants found in MF101. Liquiritigenin activated multiple ER regulatory elements and native target genes with ERbeta but not ERalpha. The ERbeta-selectivity of liquiritigenin was due to the selective recruitment of the coactivator steroid receptor coactivator-2 to target genes. In a mouse xenograph model, liquiritigenin did not stimulate uterine size or tumorigenesis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that some plants contain highly selective estrogens for ERbeta.
3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a promising cancer chemopreventive agent derived from Brassica food plants. To determine whether this natural indole has a direct growth inhibitory effect on human breast cancer cells, we examined the cell cycle regulatory effects of DIM in estrogen-dependent (MCF-7) and estrogen-independent (MDA-MB-231) human breast cancer cell lines. Results of flow cytometry studies showed that DIM treatment produced a marked increase (from 51 to 79%) in the proportion of cells in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle, regardless of estrogen-receptor status. Analyses of G(1)-acting cell cycle components indicated that the enzymatic activity of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2 was also strongly reduced. Western blot analyses showed that, concurrent with the DIM-induced cell cycle arrest, DIM stimulated a rapid and pronounced increase in levels of the CDK inhibitor, p21(WAF1/CIP1) (p21). Northern blot analysis demonstrated that DIM increased p21 mRNA expression with a maximal 6-7-fold induction, and exposure to cycloheximide did not block the response. Similar increases in expression of p21 protein and mRNA were observed in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells, suggesting that DIM induction of p21 expression is independent of estrogen-receptor signaling and p53. Transient transfection of 5'-deletion constructs of the p21 promoter demonstrated that the first 291 bp segment of the proximal promoter, which contains six promoter specific transcription factor 1 (Sp1) elements, maintained DIM responsiveness. Consistent with a role for Sp1 in this response, a reporter construct driven by three consensus Sp1 binding sites was responsive to DIM. In addition, electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that DIM induced the binding of Sp1 and Sp3 to the consensus Sp1 responsive element. Thus, our observations have uncovered an antiproliferative pathway for DIM that implicates Sp1/Sp3-induced expression of p21 as a target for cell cycle control in human breast cancer cells.
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