Freund's vaccine adjuvant promotes Her2/neu breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has been linked to the etiology of many organ-specific cancers. Indirect evidence suggests a possible role for inflammation in breast cancer. We investigated whether the systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant (FA) promotes mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model in which cancer is induced by the neu oncogene. METHODS: The effects of FA on hyperplastic mammary lesions and mammary carcinomas were determined in a neu-induced rat model. The inflammatory response to FA treatment was gauged by measuring acute phase serum haptoglobin. In addition, changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis following FA treatment were assessed. RESULTS: Rats receiving FA developed twice the number of mammary carcinomas as controls. Systemic inflammation following FA treatment is chronic, as shown by a doubling of the levels of the serum biomarker, haptoglobin, 15 days following initial treatment. We also show that this systemic inflammation is associated with the increased growth of hyperplastic mammary lesions. This increased growth results from a higher rate of cellular proliferation in the absence of changes in apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests that systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant (FA) promotes mammary carcinogenesis. It will be important to determine whether adjuvants currently used in human vaccines also promote breast cancer.

Genetically engineered rat models for breast cancer.

Rat mammary cancers generally resemble many features of human breast cancer. With the recent developments in rat genetic engineering, the rat has become an excellent model system to study aspects of the molecular etiology of breast cancer. In this review, we describe the efforts to generate genetically engineered rat models for breast cancer.

Dynamic profiling of estrogen receptor and epidermal growth factor signaling in the uteri of genistein- and estrogen-treated rats.

The pharmacokinetics and time course actions of the soy isoflavone, genistein, and estradiol benzoate (EB) on sex steroid and growth factor signaling were compared in the rat uterus. Following one s.c. injection of 500 mg genistein/kg BW or 500 microg EB/kg BW, AUC for genistein was 20171.8 ng h/ml and was 15.7 ng h/ml for estradiol-17-beta. Estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha) decreased within 2 h of genistein or EB treatment, returning to basal levels within 24 and 48 h, respectively. In response to genistein and EB, progesterone receptors (PRs) A and B increased between 16 and 24 h, with a significant increase at 24 and 48 h. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression peaked 16 h after genistein or EB treatment, inversely correlating with extracellular regulating kinase (ERK) phosphorylation. These effects were inhibited by antiestrogen pretreatment, demonstrating a requirement for ER. At 16 h, uterine weight, epithelial cell height, and cell proliferation increased. While EGFR levels increased, phosphorylated EGFR was not altered. Reduced phosphorylation of downstream kinases corresponded with decreased stromal phosphorylated-ERK (P-ERK) immunolabeling, suggesting signal attenuation. Dynamic profiling of sex steroid receptors and EGF signaling molecules suggest a similar mechanism of action for genistein and EB in the uterus, albeit at approximately 1000-fold concentration.

Genistein alters growth but is not toxic to the rat prostate.

The mortality of clinical prostate cancer is lower in Asian populations than in American or European men. Asian men typically consume more soy than their Western counterparts, leading to the investigation of individual components, particularly phytoestrogens, as protective factors against prostate cancer. Genistein, the predominant isoflavone in soy, has been reported to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer in animal models, but the underlying biological action remains to be elucidated. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the effects of the phytoestrogen, genistein and the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES), as a control, on development and function of the rat dorsolateral prostate (DLP) when given in the diet. The effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) injections were also tested. Analysis of individual lobes of the DLP revealed that 1000 mg/kg, but not 250 mg/kg, of a genistein AIN-76A diet slightly reduced lateral prostate type 1 (LP1) bud perimeter. However, expression of the secretory dorsal protein 1 (DP1) and 5alpha-reductase type II activity were not altered in the prostate. This suggested that prostate differentiation, and not toxicity, had occurred. DES in the diet reduced and testosterone injections elevated relative prostate weights and perimeters of the dorsal, LP1, lateral prostate type 2 and DP1 expression. DHT increased relative prostate weights but did not significantly increase individual lobe perimeter. Unlike DES, maximally tolerated doses of genistein in the diet were not toxic to the rat prostate.

Genistein action in the prepubertal mammary gland in a chemoprevention model.

A diet high in soy is associated with many health benefits, including reduced incidence of breast cancer. The soy phytoestrogen, genistein, is hypothesized to contribute to mammary chemoprevention via interaction with estrogen receptors (ERs) alpha and/or beta. These steroid signaling pathways are believed to exert control over proliferation and differentiation of the mammary gland by a complex bidirectional interaction with the epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling pathway. The current work was designed to study the role of these two pathways in prepubertal mammary gland growth. Female Sprague-Dawley CD rats were injected with genistein (500 micro g/g body wt) or estradiol benzoate (EB) (500 ng/g body wt) on days 16, 18 and 20. Whole mount analysis of mammary glands from 21-day-old rats showed that both treatments resulted in significantly increased terminal end buds (TEBs), and increased ductal branching, compared with animals given the vehicle, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Both effects were inhibited by blockage of ER function by pre-treating with 2 mg ICI 182,780/kg body wt, a steroidal anti-estrogen. Immunoblotting analyis of mammary gland extracts demonstrated increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression following treatment with EB or genistein. Tyrosine-phosphorylated EGFR, as measured by immunoprecipitation/immunoblotting was also increased, but when normalized to total receptors, there was no net effect. The expression and phosphorylation of downstream targets of the EGFR, mitogen activating kinase kinase (MEK 1 and 2) and extracellular signal regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK 1 and 2) were not significantly affected. Anti-estrogen pre-treatment prevented the increase in EGFR, phospho-EGFR and PR. The data indicate an ER-based mechanism of action for genistein in mammary gland proliferation and differentiation, which can lead to protection against mammary cancer.

Dietary diethylstilbestrol but not genistein adversely affects rat testicular development.

Isoflavones, including genistein, contribute to the health benefits of a soy diet. However, the estrogenic activity of genistein suggests that there may be adverse effects on reproductive tract development. We investigated the potential of exposure to genistein (250 and 1000 mg/kg diet) and the synthetic estrogen and known male reproductive toxicant, diethylstilbestrol (DES, 75 micro g/kg diet) from d 21 to d 35 to alter rat testicular development. These dietary genistein concentrations resulted in serum concentrations that approximate or exceed concentrations in Asian men on a soy-containing diet. DES exposure reduced testicular weights, altered morphology and increased apoptosis in the seminiferous tubules. The effects of DES were accompanied by a reduction in androgen receptor (AR) protein concentrations, predominantly localized to Sertoli cells. Increased expression and immunostaining for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1 and 2 in spermatagonia and spermatocytes were also observed. Immunohistochemical analysis of serial sections demonstrated that greater EGFR expression correlated with increased cellular proliferation, rather than apoptosis, and reflected impaired testicular development in DES-treated rats. Genistein in the diet did not significantly alter testicular weights, morphology, AR, EGFR and ERK expression or apoptosis. However, the higher concentration significantly reduced testicular aromatase activity, an effect that may contribute to reduced estrogen concentrations and suppression of prostate cancer development. These data suggest that exposure to genistein in the diet at concentrations that result in serum concentrations at the upper limit of humans consuming soy products does not adversely affect testicular development, but may provide health benefits.

Genistein chemoprevention: timing and mechanisms of action in murine mammary and prostate.

We investigated the potential of genistein, the primary isoflavone of soy, to protect against breast and prostate cancers in animal models. For mammary cancer studies, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-76A diet plus minus 250 mg genistein/kg diet. Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene was administered by gavage at d 50 postpartum to induce mammary tumors. Mammary cancer chemoprevention was demonstrated after prepubertal and combined prepubertal and adult genistein treatments but not after prenatal- or adult-only treatments, demonstrating that the timing of exposure to genistein is important for mammary cancer chemoprevention. The cellular mechanism of action was found to be mammary gland and cell differentiation, as shown by whole-mount analysis and beta-casein expression. An imprinting effect was shown for epidermal growth factor receptor expression in mammary terminal end buds. For prostate cancer studies, we used two models. The first was a chemically (N-methylnitrosourea) induced prostate cancer rat model. Genistein in the diet inhibited the development of invasive adenocarcinomas in a dose-dependent manner. The second model was a transgenic mouse model that resulted in spontaneously developing adenocarcinoma tumor of the prostate. Genistein in the diet reduced the incidence of poorly differentiated prostatic adenocarcinomas in a dose-dependent manner and down-regulated androgen receptor, estrogen receptor-alpha, progesterone receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor-I, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 but not estrogen receptor-beta and transforming growth factor-alpha mRNA expressions. We conclude that dietary genistein protects against mammary and prostate cancers by regulating specific sex steroid receptors and growth factor signaling pathways.