title: Ginsenoside Rg1 exerts estrogen-like activities via ligand-independent activation of ERalpha pathway.
abstract: Ginsenoside Rg1, an active ingredient commonly found in ginseng root, was previously demonstrated to be a phytoestrogen that exerted estrogen-like activity without direct interaction with estrogen receptors (ERs) in human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. The present study was designed to determine the molecular mechanism by which Rg1 exerted estrogenic effects. Co-incubation of MCF-7 cells with 1 microM of ER antagonist ICI182780 abolished the inductive effects of Rg1 on pS2 expression as well as ERE-luciferase activity, suggesting that the estrogenic effects of Rg1 were mediated through the endogenous ERs. To evaluate the relative involvement of ERalpha and ERbeta in mediating the actions of Rg1, ER-negative human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were co-transfected with the ERE-luciferase reporter construct and either ERalpha or ERbeta construct. The results showed that Rg1 could activate ERE-luciferase activity via the ERalpha-mediated pathway in a dose-dependent manner (10(-14) to 10(-6)M); whereas, the activation of ERbeta-mediated ERE-luciferase activity by Rg1 only occur at high concentration (10(-6)M). Furthermore, the results showed that 1pM Rg1 could rapidly induce phosphorylation of the AF-1 domain of ERalpha at serine 118 residue within the first 5 min of incubation, suggesting that Rg1 activates ERalpha in a ligand-independent manner. Taken together, our results indicate that Rg1 preferentially activates ERalpha via phosphorylation of AF-1 domain in the absence of receptor binding. This study is the first to provide evidence that ginsenoside Rg1 exerts estrogen-like actions via ligand-independent activation of ERalpha pathway.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
authors.forename: Wai-Sum
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Robbie Yat-Kan
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: De-An
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Man-Sau
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077267:Fulvestrant; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000187:drug effects; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000494:pharmacology; D008024:Ligands; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D048789:Phytoestrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D036145:Ginsenosides; D008024:Ligands; D048789:Phytoestrogens; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000077267:Fulvestrant; D004958:Estradiol; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D008156:Luciferases; C035054:ginsenoside Rg1