Effects of adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) hull extracts on the secretion of progesterone and estradiol in vivo and in vitro
Resource
Experimental Biology and Medicine, 232(9), 1181-1194
Journal
Experimental Biology and Medicine
Pages
1181-1194
Date Issued
2007
Date
2007
Author(s)
Hsia, Shih-Min
Yeh, Chih-Lan
Kuo, Yueh-Hsiung
Wang, Paulus S.
Chiang, Wen-Chang
Abstract
Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf.) has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for dysfunction of the endocrine system. However, there have been few studies on the effects of adlay seed on the endocrine system. In the present study, both the in vivo and in vitro effects of methanolic extracts of adlay hull (AHM) on progesterone synthesis were studied. AHM was partitioned with four different solvents: water, 1-butanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane. Four fractions, namely, AHM-Wa (water fraction), AHM-Bu (1-butanol fraction), AHM-EA (ethyl acetate fraction), and AHM-Hex (n-hexane fraction), were respectively obtained. Granulosa cells (GCs) were prepared from pregnant mare serum gonadotropin-primed immature female rats and were challenged with different reagents, including human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; 0.5 IU/ml), 8-bromo-adenosine-3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cAMP; 0.1 mM), forskolin (10 μM), 25-OH-cholesterol (10 μM), and pregnenolone (10 μM), in the presence or absence of AHM (100 μg/ml). The functions of steroidogenic enzymes, including protein expression of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), protein kinase A (PKA), and aromatase activity, were investigated. The expression of StAR mRNA was also explored by using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In the in vivo study, AHM decreased plasma progesterone and estradiol levels after an intravenous injection of AHM (2 mg/ml/kg). In the in vitro studies, AHM decreased progesterone and estradiol via inhibition of (i) the cAMP-PKA signal transduction pathway, (ii) cAMP accumulation, (iii) P450scc and 3β-HSD enzyme activities, (iv) PKA, P450scc and StAR protein expressions and StAR mRNA expression, and (v) aromatase activity in rat GCs. These results suggest that AHM decreased the production of progesterone via mechanisms involving the inhibition of the cAMP pathway, enzyme activities, and the protein expressions of P450scc and StAR in rat GCs. Copyright ? 2007 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
Subjects
Adlay hulls; Aromatase; Estradiol; P450scc; Progesterone; StAR
SDGs
Other Subjects
25 hydroxycholesterol; 3(or 17)beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; 8 bromo cyclic AMP; acetic acid ethyl ester; adlay extract; aromatase; butanol; cholesterol monooxygenase (side chain cleaving); chorionic gonadotropin; Coix lachryma jobi extract; cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase; estrogen; forskolin; gonadotropin; hexane; plant extract; pregnenolone; progesterone; solvent; steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; unclassified drug; water; adlay; animal cell; animal experiment; animal model; animal tissue; article; chemical reaction kinetics; Chinese medicine; coix lacryma jobi; controlled study; endocrine disease; enzyme mechanism; estradiol blood level; estrogen release; female; fractionation; granulosa cell; in vitro study; in vivo study; inhibition kinetics; male; nonhuman; phytochemistry; plant; progesterone release; protein expression; rat; real time polymerase chain reaction; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; signal transduction; solubility; 3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; Androstenedione; Animals; Aromatase; Cells, Cultured; Coix; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Estradiol; Female; Flavanones; Granulosa Cells; Horses; Phosphoproteins; Pregnancy; Progesterone; Rats; Signal Transduction; Time Factors; Coix lacryma-jobi; Rattus
Type
journal article