Dietary effect of SPI or Genistein alters rat mammary epithelial global gene expression profiles

The role of diet in the prevention of breast cancer is widely accepted, yet little is known on how early dietary effects mitigate adult cancer risk. Soy consumption is associated with reduced breast cancer risk in women, an effect largely attributed to the soy isoflavone genistein (GEN). We previously showed lower chemically-induced mammary tumor incidence in young adult rats with lifetime dietary intake of soy protein isolate (SPI), a highly refined soy product in infant formula, than in those fed the control diet Casein (CAS). To gain insight into signaling pathways underlying dietary tumor protection, we performed genome-wide expression profiling of mammary epithelial cells from young adult rats lifetime fed CAS, SPI, or supplemental GEN-based diets. We identified mammary epithelial genes regulated by SPI (79 total) and GEN (99 total) using Affymetrix rat 230A GeneChip arrays and found minimal overlap in gene expression patterns. We showed that the regulated transcripts functionally cluster in biochemical pathways involving metabolism, immune response, signal transduction, and ion transport. We confirmed the differential expression of Wnt (Wnt5a, Sfrp2) and Notch (Notch2, Hes1) signaling components by SPI and/or GEN using QPCR. Wnt pathway inhibition by GEN was supported by lower Cyclin D1 immunoreactivity in mammary ductal epithelium of GEN relative to CAS and SPI, despite their comparable levels of membrane-localized E-cadherin and -catenin. Identification of distinct GEN and SPI responsive genes in mammary epithelial cells may define early events contributing to tumor protection by diet relevant to the prevention of breast and other types of cancer.

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Su Y, Simmen FA, Xiao R, Simmen RC