Isoflavonoid Photoprotection in Mouse and Human Skin Is Dependent on Metallothionein

Phytoestrogens (Resveratrol and Equol) for Estrogen-Deficient Skin-Controversies/Misinformation versus Anti-Aging In Vitro and Clinical Evidence via Nutraceutical-Cosmetics

The overarching theme for this review is perspective. Superfoods (a marketing term for fruits and vegetables, etc.) have a positive connotation, while many superfoods contain phytoestrogens, a term that is alarming to the public and has a negative connotation because phytoestrogens are endocrine-disruptors, even though they are strong antioxidants that have many health benefits. To understand phytoestrogens, this paper provides a brief summary of the characteristics of: (a) estrogens, (b) estrogen receptors (ER), (c) estrogen-deficient skin, (d) how perspective(s) get off track, (e) phytoestrogen food sources, and (f) misconceptions of phytoestrogens and food safety, in general, that influence person(s) away from what is true. Finally, a brief history of cosmetics to nutraceuticals is covered plus the characteristics of phytoestrogens, resveratrol and equol on: (g) estrogen receptor binding, (h) topical and oral dosing, and (i) in vitro, molecular mechanisms and select clinical evidence, where both phytoestrogens (resveratrol and equol) demonstrate promising applications to improve skin health is presented along with future directions of nutraceuticals. Perspective is paramount in understanding the controversies associated with superfoods, phytoestrogens, and endocrine-disruptors because they have both positive and negative connotations. Everyone is exposed to and consumes these molecules everyday regardless of age, gender, or geographic location around the world, and how we understand this is a matter of perspective.

Induction of Biosynthetic Genes Related to Rosmarinic Acid in Plant Callus Culture and Antiproliferative Activity Against Breast Cancer Cell Line

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Rosmarinic acid is considered as one of the most important secondary metabolites in medicinal plants especially of family Lamiaceae. Rosmarinic acid can prevent both the tumor initiation and promotion stages of carcinogenesis. The aim of current study was to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of Hyssopus officinalis and Thymus vulgaris callus crude extracts contained rosmarinic acid on breast cancer cells with correlation to phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes expression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Calli of both plants were maintained on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with kinetin and 2,4-D. Rosmarinic acid was determined spectrophotometrically in both seed-germinated plants (control) and callus tissues. Transcriptional profiling of rosmarinic acid pathway genes was performed with RT-PCR system. The human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was treated with different levels of crude extracts at different time intervals in order to show their effects on the cell proliferation using a cell viability colorimetric assay (MTT).

RESULTS

The results showed a significant increase of rosmarinic acid content up to 6.5% in callus compared to control. The transcriptional profile of the selected rosmarinic acid genes in callus tissues indicated significant effects on the rosmarinic acid content in both genotypes. T. vulgaris (90 μg mL-1) and H. officinalis (150 μg mL-1) callus extracts had exhibited highest reduction in the cell MCF-7 viability after 48 h of exposure.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that rosmarinic acid production increased in callus tissue, showed the higher gene expression levels and remarkably inhibited growth of human breast cancer cell line.

The role of metallothionein in a dinitrofluorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis-like murine model

Atopic dermatitis (AD), one of the most common chronic eczematous skin disorders, is associated with cutaneous hyperactivity as a response to environmental triggers. Metallothionein (MT) plays a constitutive defensive role in the response to noxious stimuli. However, the role of MT in AD development is unclear. Using an AD-like murine model created by the topical application of 2.4-dinitrofluorobenzene, we studied the dynamic pattern of MT expression on AD development. AD-like lesions were evaluated based on the development of erythema, edema, exfoliation, scaling, increased thickness, and increased weight of lesional skin. These characteristics of AD-like lesions and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression peaked at Day 1 of the establishment of our model and gradually alleviated over time. The MT expression in lesional skin was increased and peaked at Day 3. By immunostaining, increased expression of MT was translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. MT-1/2 knockout (MT-/-) mice and wild type (MT+/+) mice were also used to evaluate the role of MT on AD. MT-/- mice had greater edema scores, thickness, lesional skin weight, as well as more CD4+ T cells, TSLP, superoxide dismutase, and NDUFAF1. These results suggest that MT may play a protective role against AD development, and that antioxidant and nuclear protective mechanisms may be involved.

Skin aging and oxidative stress: Equol's anti-aging effects via biochemical and molecular mechanisms

Oxygen in biology is essential for life. It comes at a cost during normal cellular function, where reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated by oxidative metabolism. Human skin exposed to solar ultra-violet radiation (UVR) dramatically increases ROS production/oxidative stress. It is important to understand the characteristics of human skin and how chronological (intrinsic) aging and photo-aging (extrinsic aging) occur via the impact of ROS production by cascade signaling pathways. The goal is to oppose or neutralize ROS insults to maintain good dermal health. Botanicals, as active ingredients, represent one of the largest categories used in dermatology and cosmeceuticals to combat skin aging. An emerging botanical is equol, a polyphenolic/isoflavonoid molecule found in plants and food products and via gastrointestinal metabolism from precursor compounds. Introductory sections cover oxygen, free radicals (ROS), oxidative stress, antioxidants, human skin aging, cellular/molecular ROS events in skin, steroid enzymes/receptors/hormonal actions and genetic factors in aging skin. The main focus of this review covers the characteristics of equol (phytoestrogenic, antioxidant and enhancement of extracellular matrix properties) to reduce skin aging along with its anti-aging skin influences via reducing oxidative stress cascade events by a variety of biochemical/molecular actions and mechanisms to enhance human dermal health.

Oral Administration of Fermented Soymilk Products Protects the Skin of Hairless Mice against Ultraviolet Damage

The protective effect of isoflavones on skin damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation and their bioavailability were investigated in ovariectomized hairless mice fed diets composed of fermented soymilk containing aglycone forms of isoflavones or control soymilk containing glucose-conjugated forms of isoflavones. The erythema intensity of dorsal skin was significantly higher in ovariectomized mice than in sham-operated mice (p < 0.05). The erythema intensity and epidermal thickness of dorsal skin were significantly lower in the fermented soymilk diet group than in the control diet group (each p < 0.05). Levels of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in dorsal skin were significantly lower in the fermented soymilk diet group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Serum and dorsal skin isoflavone concentrations were significantly higher in the fermented soymilk diet group than in the soymilk diet group (p < 0.05). These results indicate that oral administration of a fermented soymilk diet increases isoflavone concentrations in the blood and skin, effectively scavenging the reactive oxygen species generated by UV irradiation and exerting an estrogen-like activity, with a consequent protective effect on skin photodamage in hairless mice.

Identification of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes and phenylpropanoid accumulation by transcriptome analysis of Lycium chinense

Background

Lycium chinense is well known in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for its medicinal value and composition, which have been widely studied for decades. However, further research on Lycium chinense is limited due to the lack of transcriptome and genomic information.

Results

The transcriptome of L. chinense was constructed by using an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing platform. All 56,526 unigenes with an average length of 611 nt and an N50 equaling 848 nt were generated from 58,192,350 total raw reads after filtering and assembly. Unigenes were assembled by BLAST similarity searches and annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. Using these transcriptome data, the majority of genes that are associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in L. chinense were identified. In addition, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis-related gene expression and compound content in different organs were analyzed. We found that most phenylpropanoid genes were highly expressed in the red fruits, leaves, and flowers. An important phenylpropanoid, chlorogenic acid, was also found to be extremely abundant in leaves.

Conclusions

Using Illumina sequencing technology, we have identified the function of novel homologous genes that regulate metabolic pathways in Lycium chinense.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-14-802) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Phyto-SERM constitutes from Flemingia macrophylla

The methanolic extract of Flemingia macrophylla roots exhibited significant estrogenic activity in the transgenic plant assay system which was comparable to the activity of soybean extract. Utilizing estrogenic activity-guided fractionation, one new compound, fleminigin, together with 23 known compounds were isolated from F. macrophylla roots' methanolic extract. The structure of the new compound was identified based on intensive spectroscopic analysis and the full spectral data for one of the isolated compounds, flemichin E, was introduced for the first time in the current investigation. The estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated revealing that the isolated isoflavonoids may act as partial estrogen agonists, as well as antagonists. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory and the cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were studied. These results suggested the potential applications of F. macrophylla extract and its isolated compounds as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs).

Vitamin D and death by sunshine

Exposure to sunlight is the major cause of skin cancer. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun causes damage to DNA by direct absorption and can cause skin cell death. UV also causes production of reactive oxygen species that may interact with DNA to indirectly cause oxidative DNA damage. UV increases accumulation of p53 in skin cells, which upregulates repair genes but promotes death of irreparably damaged cells. A benefit of sunlight is vitamin D, which is formed following exposure of 7-dehydrocholesterol in skin cells to UV. The relatively inert vitamin D is metabolized to various biologically active compounds, including 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Therapeutic use of vitamin D compounds has proven beneficial in several cancer types, but more recently these compounds have been shown to prevent UV-induced cell death and DNA damage in human skin cells. Here, we discuss the effects of vitamin D compounds in skin cells that have been exposed to UV. Specifically, we examine the various signaling pathways involved in the vitamin D-induced protection of skin cells from UV.

The consequences of UV-induced immunosuppression for human health

Exposure to UV radiation can cause suppression of specific immune responses. The pathways leading to the down-regulation are complex, starting from the absorption of UV photons by chromophores in the skin and ending with local and systemic changes in immune mediators, the generation of T and B regulatory cells and inhibition of effector and memory T cell activation. The consequences for human health are thought to be both beneficial and adverse. The former are illustrated by protection against polymorphic light eruption, and possible protection against T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases and asthma. The latter are illustrated by skin cancer, cutaneous lupus erythematosus and infectious diseases including vaccination. Many outstanding questions remain in this rapidly developing and controversial area, not least what advice to give the general public regarding their sun exposure. While considerable advances have been made in the development of strategies that preserve the health benefits of sunlight exposure and decrease its detrimental effects, further research is required before optimal levels of protection are achieved.

The two faces of metallothionein in carcinogenesis: photoprotection against UVR-induced cancer and promotion of tumour survival

Metallothionein is a multi-functional protein that protects the host against toxic heavy metals. Under stressful situations it can protect against oxidative damage, contribute to tissue repair, modulate immune responses and limit inflammatory processes. Recently, metallothionein's role in ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced injury has been investigated. These studies have shown that when metallothionein is upregulated following exposure to UVR, it can protect against UVR-induced damage and the subsequent development of skin cancer. We propose that this initial protection is achieved through its anti-oxidant role resulting in reduced oxidative stress, reduced apoptosis, reduced NFkappaB activation and enhanced repair of DNA damage. However, once UVR-induced neoplasia has occurred, the cancer cells can hijack metallothionein's protective functions, resulting in increased tumour progression and malignancy. These two discordant sets of attributes are context-dependent, and represent the two faces of metallothionein.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) isoflavones: root phenolic compounds affected by biotic and abiotic stress factors

BACKGROUND

Phenolic compounds have recently received considerable attention for their ability to protect plant and human cells from oxidative stress-induced damage. Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a rich source of isoflavonoids with multiple potential protective functions. The aim of this study was to identify and characterise phenolic compounds in red clover roots by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry and to study the effects of stress factors and growth stage on root phenolics.

RESULTS

A total of 28 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified in red clover roots. The most abundant phenolics in pot-grown roots were formononetin glycoside malonate (G-M) (1.51-4.26 mg g(-1)), formononetin (2.21-3.57 mg g(-1)) and biochanin A (1.73-2.17 mg g(-1)), whereas field-grown roots were rich in formononetin-G-M (3.90-4.27 mg g(-1)), maackiain-G-M (2.35-3.02 mg g(-1)) and pseudobaptigenin-G-M (1.80-2.58 mg g(-1)). Concentrations were affected by the growth stage. Ozone exposure slightly affected the total phenolic content in roots and also had minor effects on individual compounds.

CONCLUSION

Elevated ozone, cultivation regime and growth stage affected the levels of phenolics in red clover roots, suggesting sensitivity of root phenolics to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. The high levels of phenolics found in roots even in late autumn may be utilised in many applications.

Recent advances in urocanic acid photochemistry, photobiology and photoimmunology

Urocanic acid (UCA), produced in the upper layers of mammalian skin, is a major absorber of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Originally thought to be a 'natural sunscreen', studies conducted a quarter of a century ago proposed that UCA may be a chromophore for the immunosuppression that follows exposure to UVR. With its intriguing photochemistry, its role in immunosuppression and skin cancer development, and skin barrier function, UCA continues to be the subject of intense research effort. This review summarises the photochemical, photobiological and photoimmunological findings regarding UCA, published since 1998.

Protective effect of the isoflavone equol against DNA damage induced by ultraviolet radiation to hairless mouse skin

Equol, an isoflavonoid metabolite produced from the dietary isoflavone daidzein by the gut microflora in mammals, has been found to protect not only against ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced cutaneous inflammation and photoimmune suppression, but also have anti-photocarcinogenic properties in mice. Because the state of DNA damage has been correlated with suppression of the immune system and photocarcinogenesis, we have therefore examined the potential of equol to offer protection from solar-simulated UV (SSUV) radiation-induced DNA damage in hairless mice by the immunohistochemical approach using monoclonal antibody specific for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs; H3 antibody). Topical application of 20 µM equol lotion, which was applied both before and after SSUV significantly reduced the number of CPDs. This reduction was evident immediately after SSUV exposure, at 1 h after exposure, and at 24 h after exposure, revealing 54%, 50%, and 26% reduction in CPDs, respectively. When the same concentration was applied for 5 consecutive days after SSUV exposure, there was no significant difference in the reduction of CPDs immediately after SSUV irradiation or at 1 hour afterwards, but there were significant reductions of 23% and 42% at 24 and 48 h after SSUV exposure, respectively. Despite apparently reducing the number of CPDs post-SSUV, topically applied equol did not appear to increase the rate of dimer removal. To conclude, equol applied topically prior to SSUV irradiation offers protection against CPD formation in hairless mice, possibly by acting as a suncreen and thus inhibiting DNA photodamage.

Estrogen receptor signaling protects against immune suppression by UV radiation exposure

The phytoestrogenic isoflavonoid equol is known to protect against solar-simulated UV radiation-induced inflammation, immunosuppression, and skin carcinogenesis. The mechanism may involve antioxidant actions, because equol not only is a radical scavenger but also enhances the induction of a relevant cutaneous antioxidant, metallothionein. However, this study in female hairless mice examined whether the estrogenicity of the isoflavonoid might be responsible. Protection by topically applied equol against photoimmune suppression was found to be strongly and dose-dependently inhibited by the estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist ICI 182,780. Furthermore, ICI 182,780 alone was found to significantly exacerbate immunosuppression resulting from solar-simulated UV radiation irradiation, suggesting a natural role for the ER in photoimmune protection. In support of this role, topical application of the physiological ligand 17-beta-estradiol also provided dose-dependent photoimmune protection, inhibitable by ICI 182,780, that was attributed largely to the inactivation of the downstream actions of cis-urocanic acid, an important endogenous immunosuppressive photoproduct. Thus, a hitherto unrecognized function of the ER as a normal photoprotective immune regulator in the skin was revealed. The relationship between equol and cutaneous metallothionein suggests an association of the ER with this inducible antioxidant in constraining the photoimmune-suppressed state and therefore in the prevention of the facilitation of photocarcinogenesis by this immunological defect. This role for the ER may underlie important gender-specific differences in UV-responsiveness that would reflect different needs for environmental photoprotection in males and females.