Modulation of some estrogen-responsive genes in the vena cava of ovariectomised Wistar rats by griffonianone C, an isoflavone derived from Millettia griffoniana Baill. (Fabaceae).

In the present study, we investigated whether griffonianone C (Griff C), extracted from root bark of Millettia griffoniana, changes the expression of several estrogen-responsive genes in the vena cava of ovariectomised rats. For this purpose, we subcutaneously administered Griff C (2, 10, or 20mg/kg/d BW), 17β-estradiol (E2: 10μg/kg/d BW) as positive control, and a vehicle control respectively for three days. Relative expression levels of estrogen receptor α (ERα), progesterone receptor (PR), cyclooxygenase2 (Cox-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-receptor 2, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67 mRNA extracted from the vena cava of these rats were quantified by real-time PCR. Results showed that Griff C up-regulated the expression of PR, ACE, ERα, VEGF, VEGFR2 and Ki67. However, the results of Cox-2, PCNA, and eNOS expression did not reach significance in the E2 and Griff C treated samples. These results show that griffonianone C regulated a few of the analysed genes in a similar fashion than estradiol; however, others showed a different pattern. This suggests that some of the biological effects attributed to M. griffoniana are mediated via ER pathway others may be mediated via other pathways.