Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent genomic effects of environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been shown to be modulated by non-genomic protein kinase C (PKC)-related pathways. The present study was designed to determine whether PKC activation may also impair estrogenic genomic response triggered by PAHs. Treatment by the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) w...

Several studies have reported that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exhibit estrogenic activity; however, it is not clear if these responses are associated with the polychlorinated hydrocarbon or its hydroxylated metabolite. In order to further test this hypothesis, a battery of in vitro and in vivo assays were used to investigate the estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities of 2,4,6,2',6'-pent...

Several sex steroids and estrogenic drugs are genotoxic in varying conditions and cause oxidative stress, which has been a field of interest to study the molecular mechanism of the genetic damage. Among the estrogenic drugs, a strong toxic effect is exerted by diethylstilbestrol (DES). In the present study it has been attempted to study its genotoxic effects in human lymphocyte assay system alo...

In the present study, Plumbago zeylanica Linn. (Plumbaginaceae) , one of the folk medicinal plants commonly used as antifertility agent was evaluated for its antifertility effect. Five successive solvent extracts, petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone, ethanol and water extracts, of the stems of P. zeylanica were studied on estrous cycle at two dose levels, 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively....

Despite the classical hormonal effect, estrogen has been reported to mediate neuroprotection in the brain, which leads to the searching of estrogen-like substances for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Flavonoids, a group of natural compounds, are well known to possess estrogenic effects and used to substitute estrogen, that is, phytoestrogen. Flavonoid serves as one of the potential targets...

The effects of altered estrogenic environments on creatine kinase (CK) and adenylate kinase (AK) were studied in two rodent mammary tumor systems, R3230AC and primary 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene iDMB \) indim-d carcinomas, to determine whether response of these enzymes could be related to their hormone dependence. The hormonal perturbations studied were ovariectomy and administration of vari...

There is concern that persistent environmental pollutants such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) increase breast cancer risk, at least partially through estrogenic effects. Because the endometrium is more sensitive to estrogenic stimulation than the breast, such a carcinogenic effect should be more pronounced in the endometrium than the breast. In a p...

In higher vertebrates, estrogen can exert an organizational effect on sexually dimorphic areas of the central nervous system (CNS) during the perinatal phase of development. The possibility that estrogenic pollutants may mimic estrogen action on the CNS during development and produce long-lasting or irreversible effects is an issue of great concern. Bisphenol A (BPA), a compound widely used in ...