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SECOND INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON THE ROLE OF SOY
IN PREVENTING AND TREATING CHRONIC DISEASESeptember 15-18, 1996
Brussells, Belgium
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
(Oral Abstracts)Soy and Bone Health
Genistein and Bone: Studies in Rat Models and Bone Cell Lines
J.J.B. Anderson, S.C. Garner, W.W. Ambrose, and T. Ohue, Department of Nutrition.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7400.Because genistein (G) has been shown to have estrogenic properties on reproductive tissues, a logical extension was to test this soy-derived isoflavone molecule on the estrogen-responsive loss of skeletal tissue in ovariectomized (OVX) rodent models. Treatment with G in two different OVX rat models over a period of 4-6 weeks has provided convincing evidence that G, at an optimal dose, results in an equivalent % retention of bone mineral mass as a physiologic dose of estradiol (E2). Furthermore, these in vivo studies revealed that trabecular bone tissue was the major skeletal component preserved through the action of G. These findings suggested that G may act as an agonist on estrogen receptors in bone tissues. In vitro studies of rat osteoblast-like cell lines were then undertaken to determine if the effects of G on these cells in culture were similar to those of E2 on alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity. AP concentrations were similar in culture plates treated with either G or E2. Several types of evidence from these cell culture experiments suggest that the effects of G are not limited to agonism at the estrogen receptor, but that this phytoestrogen may also affect other enzymes in these bone cells. Based on our work, G appears to be a potentially useful agent for retaining bone mass following the loss of endogenous estrogens; yet, based on both our in vivo and in vitro studies, G does not appear to have any adverse side-effects on uterine tissue or on bone cell proliferation when administered at reasonable dosages (Supported by grants from the Institute of Nutrition, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Protein Technologies International, Inc., St. Louis, MO.)
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