title: Effects of a diet rich in sesame ( Sesamum indicum) pericarp on the expression of oestrogen receptor alpha and oestrogen receptor beta in rat prostate and uterus.
abstract: The expression of oestrogen receptors (ERalpha and ERbeta) in the prostate and uterus tissues of Wistar rats supplied for 8 weeks with a diet rich in sesame (Sesamum indicum) pericarp (30 %) was monitored. Eight male rats, aged 6 weeks, were divided into a control group fed on a normal diet, and an experimental one, provided with the normal diet enriched with 30 % sesame pericarp. A similar experiment was performed with female rats. At the end of the experiment, the prostate and uterus tissues were surgically removed and kept at - 80 degrees C for up to 2 months. Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) methods were used in order to investigate the levels of receptor proteins and mRNA. Significant increase in the expression of ERbeta in prostate and uterus was evident in both methods, while the magnitude of the observed alteration depended on the applied method. No statistically significant change was observed in the expression of ERalpha in uterus. In prostate, although the increase was more evident when investigated by means of qRT-PCR, the difference in expression of ERalpha was not statistically significant. In both tissues, a shift of the ratio of ERalpha:ERbeta in favour of ERbeta was evident, indicating, according to existing literature, a beneficial effect of the diet provided upon the health status of the organisms. It is suggested that this effect is attributed to the lignans present in the pericarp which exert phyto-oestrogenic activity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Medicine, Pneumology (Lung Pathology) Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
authors.forename: Aristotelis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anagnostis
authors.forename: Athanasios I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052117:Benzodioxoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004032:Diet; D004149:Dioxoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D017705:Lignans / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D010636:Phenols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D048789:Phytoestrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011467:Prostate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D031685:Sesamum; D014599:Uterus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D052117:Benzodioxoles; D004149:Dioxoles; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta; D017705:Lignans; D010636:Phenols; D048789:Phytoestrogens; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C054124:sesamolin; C025583:sesamol; C054125:sesamin