Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Wonju, Republic of Korea.
J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2021 Aug;47(8):2758-2766. doi: 10.1111/jog.14826. Epub 2021 May 13.
Among non-hormonal treatments, herbal products are frequently used by women. Korean red ginseng (KRG) is one of the popular herbal medicines. KRG could be one option for relieving menopausal symptoms. However, there are still concerns about the safety for long-term use. In order to be used for alleviating menopausal symptoms, the safety of KRG on breast must be ensured. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of KRG on breast cells.
MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells were treated with different concentrations of KRG extracts for 48 h. Cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay, and apoptosis by flow cytometry. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins was determined by western blot analysis and estrogen receptor (ER) affinity by ER binding assay.
KRG extract inhibited growth and induced apoptosis of both MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells in dose-dependent manner. KRG extract increased the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins BAX, BAK, and BAD and decreased the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL in both cells. The expressions of Fas and FasL were increased in lower doses, but decreased in higher doses in both cells. Activities of caspase-3, -8 and -9 increased in MCF-10A, while caspase-8 and -9 showed increase in MCF-7. Competition of KRG to E was significant in MCF-7 as KRG dose increased, whereas ER binding was hardly shown in MCF-10.
KRG induced apoptosis via extrinsic and intrinsic pathway in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and MCF-10A non-malignant cells. KRG may be safely used with regard to breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women to reduce the vasomotor symptoms.
在非激素治疗中，草药产品经常被女性使用。红参是一种流行的草药。红参可能是缓解更年期症状的选择之一。然而，长期使用的安全性仍令人担忧。为了缓解更年期症状，必须确保红参对乳房的安全性。本研究旨在探讨红参对乳腺细胞的影响。
用不同浓度的红参提取物处理 MCF-7 和 MCF-10A 细胞 48 小时。用 MTT 法评估细胞活力，用流式细胞术评估细胞凋亡。用 Western blot 分析测定凋亡相关蛋白的表达，用 ER 结合试验测定雌激素受体（ER）亲和力。
红参提取物呈剂量依赖性抑制 MCF-7 和 MCF-10A 细胞的生长并诱导其凋亡。红参提取物增加了两种细胞中促凋亡蛋白 BAX、BAK 和 BAD 的表达，降低了抗凋亡蛋白 Bcl-2 和 Bcl-XL 的表达。两种细胞中 Fas 和 FasL 的表达在较低剂量时增加，而在较高剂量时减少。caspase-3、-8 和 -9 的活性在 MCF-10A 中增加，而 caspase-8 和 -9 在 MCF-7 中增加。随着红参剂量的增加，红参对 MCF-7 中 ER 的竞争显著，而 MCF-10 中几乎没有 ER 结合。
红参通过外源性和内源性途径诱导 MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞和 MCF-10A 非恶性细胞凋亡。红参可安全用于绝经后妇女，以减少血管舒缩症状，降低乳腺癌风险。
