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Endocrinology Vol. 142, No. 1 400-406
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLES

The Nonfeminizing Enantiomer of 17ß-Estradiol Exerts Protective Effects in Neuronal Cultures and a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemia1

P. S. Green, S.-H. Yang, K. R. Nilsson, A. S. Kumar, D. F. Covey and J. W. Simpkins

Center for the Neurobiology of Aging (P.S.G., S.-H.Y., J.W.S.), Department of Pharmacodynamics (J.W.S.), and Department of Neurosurgery (S.-H.Y.), University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610; and Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology (K.R.N., A.S.K., D.F.C.), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63110

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Pattie S. Green, 629 South Elm Street, Slot 807, Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205. E-mail: greenpatties{at}uams.edu


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Estrogens are potent neuroprotective compounds in a variety of animal and cell culture models, and data indicate that estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated gene transcription is not required for some of these effects. To further address the requirement for an ER in estrogen enhancement of neuronal survival, we assessed the enantiomer of 17ß-estradiol (Ent-E2), which has identical chemical properties but interacts only weakly with known ERs, for neuroprotective efficacy. Ent-E2 was both as potent and efficacious as 17ß-estradiol in attenuating oxidative stress-induced death in HT-22 cells, a murine hippocampal cell line. Further, Ent-E2 completely attenuated H2O2 toxicity in human SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells at a 10 nM concentration. In a rodent model of focal ischemia, 17ß-estradiol (100 µg/kg) or Ent-E2 (100 µg/kg), injected 2 h before middle cerebral artery occlusion, resulted in a 60 and 61% reduction in lesion volume, respectively. Ent-E2, at the doses effective in this study, did not stimulate uterine growth or vaginal opening in juvenile female rats when administered daily for 3 days. These data indicate that the neuroprotective effects of estrogens, both in vitro and in vivo, can be disassociated from the peripheral estrogenic actions.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ASSOCIATE postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy with several beneficial neurological outcomes, including a reduction in incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (1, 2), Parkinson’s disease (3, 4), and death from stroke (5, 6). These effects may be mediated, in part, by estrogen-mediated enhancement of neuronal survival. The neuroprotective effects of estrogens, specifically the potent 17ß-estradiol (ßE2), have been widely described in neuronal cultures against toxicities, including growth factor deprivation, glutamate toxicity, and oxidative stress (for review, see 7). Similarly, in rodents, ßE2 has been shown to attenuate neuronal loss after cerebral ischemia (8, 9, 10), kainic acid administration (11), and physical injury (12).

The role of estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent transcription in estrogen’s neuroprotective activity is controversial (for review, see 7). The neuroprotective activity of ßE2 in culture models is attenuated by the ER antagonists tamoxifen or ICI 182,780 in some studies (13, 14, 15); however, others report no effect of these same ER antagonists on ßE2-mediated neuroprotection (16, 17, 18, 19, 20). Our laboratory (16, 21, 22) and others (17, 23) have reported equipotent (to ßE2) neuroprotective efficacy of 17{alpha}-estradiol, which only weakly activates ER-dependent gene transcription (24), implicating mechanisms other than ER-mediated transcription in estrogen-mediated protection of neuronal cultures. In mouse models of cerebral ischemia, the data are equally inconclusive. Sampei et al. (25) report no difference in total lesion size between wild-type and ER{alpha}-deficient mice. However, ICI 182,780 administration increases striatal lesion volume in the wild-type mouse (26). ICI 182,780 administration did not alter neocortical lesion volume in this study. It is important to note that, although protection of neocortical areas are consistently reported with ßE2 treatment (8, 9, 10), ßE2-mediated protection of striatal infarct is not consistently reported (9).

The present study addresses the requirement for ER- dependent transcription in the neuroprotective effects of estrogens, both in vitro and in vivo, using a novel enantiomer strategy. Ent-17ß-estradiol (Ent-E2), the enantiomer of the naturally occurring ßE2 (Fig. 1Go), has identical physiochemical properties as ßE2 except for interactions with other stereospecific molecules such as ERs. Ent-E is reported to interact only weakly with uterine-derived ERs (27, 28) and lacks estrogenic effects on reproductive tissues in rodents (29, 30, 31). Some reports indicate that Ent-E2 exerts slight antiuterotrophic activity and can antagonize the uterotrophic effects of ßE2 (32, 33). In contrast, Ent-E2 has been reported to elicit alterations in lipid profiles identical to ßE2, with similar potency (34). Further, Ent-E2 is not enzymatically converted to ßE2 (35) and, therefore, is more adequately suited than 17{alpha}-estradiol for evaluating the role of ERs in estrogen-mediated neuroprotection. This study evaluates the neuroprotective effects of Ent-E2, both in culture models of oxidative stress and in a rat transient focal ischemia model and, further, determines whether Ent-E2 can exert neuroprotective effects in the absence of stimulation of peripheral estrogen-responsive tissues.



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Figure 1. Structure of the naturally occurring ßE2 and the nonnaturally occurring Ent-E2.

 

    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Steroids
ßE2 was purchased from Steraloids, Inc. (Wilton, NH). Ent-E2 was synthesized from the known starting material, [3R-(3{alpha},3a{alpha},9a{alpha},9bß)]-3-(1,1-dimethylethoxy)-1,2,3,3a,4,5,8,9,9a,9b-decahydro-3a-methyl-6-[2-(2-methyl-1,3-dioxalan-2-yl)ethyl-7H-benz[e]inden-7-one (Chemical Abstracts Registry Number 139973–49-2), which was prepared by a multistep synthetic pathway as described in the literature (36). This compound was then converted in either of two ways (method A or method B) to Ent-19-nortestosterone (Chemical Abstracts Registry Number 4091–86-5). In the first step of method A, the double bond is reduced, using lithium in liquid ammonia, and the resulting tricyclic compound is cyclized to Ent-19-nortestosterone in the second step. In the first step of method B, the double bond is reduced by catalytic hydrogenation, and the resulting tricyclic compound is again cyclized to Ent-19-nortestosterone in the second step. Method B has been previously used to prepare 19-nortestosterone (37). The hydroxy group of Ent-19-nortestosterone is then esterified, and the A-ring of the steroid is aromatized using CuBr2 in acetonitrile. This reaction has been reported previously for the conversion of 19-nortestosterone, 17-acetate to 17ß-estradiol, 17-acetate (38). Finally, the 17-acetate group is removed by saponification to give Ent-E2 (Chemical Abstracts Registry Number 3736–22-9). The structure of Ent-E2 was proven by experimental data, which showed that the compound had the same melting point (176–177 C), infrared absorption spectra (3449, 3246, 2936, 2864, 1611, 1587, 1500, 1450, 1283, 1250, 1057, 1012, 930, 874 cm-1), 1H NMR [(300 MHz, CD3OD) {delta} 7.06 (1 H, d, J = 8.7 Hz), 6.54–6.46 (2 H, m), 3.64 (1 H, t, J = 8.4 Hz), 0.75 (3 H)] and 13C NMR [(75 MHZ, CD3OD) {delta} 156.07, 138.98, 132.80, 127.32, 116.18, 113.85, 82.57, 51.32, 45.34, 44.36, 40.50, 38.01, 30.67 (2 x C). 28.48, 27.56, 23.99, 11.62) spectra but opposite optical rotation ([{alpha}]D28 = -71.2 (c = 0.99, CH3OH)) as ßE2.

Steroids were initially dissolved in ethanol at a 10 mM concentration and then diluted to the appropriate concentration in culture media or assay buffer for cell culture or ex vivo assays, respectively. Steroids were dissolved in corn oil at the concentration necessary to yield the indicated dose in 1 ml/kg injection volume for rodent studies.

Cell culture
SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cells were obtained from ATCC(Manassas, VA), and HT-22 cells (immortalized hippocampal neurons of murine origin) were a generous gift of Dr. David Schubert (The Salk Institute, San Diego, CA). Cells were maintained in RMPI-1640 and DMEM media (Life Technologies, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD), respectively, supplemented with 10% charcoal/dextran-stripped FBS (HyClone Laboratories, Inc., Logan, UT) and 200 µg/ml gentamycin, according to standard culture conditions.

Cells were plated, 24 h before initiation of experiment, at a density of 20,000 cells/well (SK-N-SH cells) or 5,000 cells/well (HT-22 cells), in both clear- and white-bottomed Nunc 96-well plates (Fisher Scientific, Orlando, FL). Steroids were added at concentrations ranging from 0.1 nM to 10 µM, either 2 or 24 h before exposure to either glutamate (5 mM) or H2O2 (3–60 µM). Ethanol was used at concentrations of 0.001–0.1% vol/vol as a vehicle control. These concentrations of ethanol had no discernible effect on cell viability. After 24 h of toxin exposure, cells were rinsed with PBS, pH 7.4, and viability was assessed by the addition of 1 µM calcein AM (Molecular Probes, Inc., Eugene, OR) and 1 µg/ml propidium iodide (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) in PBS for 15 min. Calcein AM fluorescence was determined at an excitation of 485 nm and an emission of 538 nm. Percent viability was calculated by normalization of all values to the toxin-free control group (= 100%). Percent protection was calculated as the difference between each experimental value and the average of the toxin-only group normalized to the difference between the toxin-free control and toxin-only groups (= 100% protection). Cells that had been lysed by addition of 1% SDS were used for blank readings. Staining was visualized using a fluorescent Nikon (Melville, NY) microscope, and cells were photographed for qualitative documentation.

Animals
Female Sprague Dawley rats (Harlan, Indianapolis, IN) were housed in pairs in hanging, stainless steel cages in a temperature-controlled room (25 ± 1 C) with a daily light cycle (on from 0700 to 1900 h daily). All rats had free access to laboratory chow and tap water. All procedures performed on animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Florida before the initiation of the study.

Ovariectomy
Female Sprague Dawley rats (220–225 g BW) were given 3–5 days to acclimate, then were bilaterally ovariectomized using a dorsal approach. Animals were anesthetized with methoxyflurane (Pitman Moore, Inc., Crossing, NJ) inhalant anesthesia. A small (1 cm) cut was made through the skin, facia, and muscle. The ovaries were externalized, clipped, and removed; then the muscle, facia, and skin were sutured closed. Ovariectomy was performed 2 weeks before experiments.

Middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion
Either oil vehicle or 100 µg/kg ßE2 or Ent-E2 was administered by sc injection, 2 h before the onset of MCA occlusion. Animals were anesthetized by ip injection of ketamine (60 mg/kg) and xylazine (10 mg/kg). MCA occlusion was performed as previously described (8). Briefly, the left common carotid artery, external carotid artery, and internal carotid artery were exposed through a midline cervical incision. A 3–0 monofilament suture was introduced into the internal carotid artery lumen and gently advanced until resistance was felt. The suture was kept in place for 60 min and then withdrawn to allow MCA reperfusion. The procedure was performed within 20 min, with minimal bleeding. Rectal temperature was maintained between 36.5 and 37.0 C during the entire procedure.

Animals were decapitated and the brain removed 24 h after onset of MCA occlusion. The brain was then dissected coronally into 2-mm sections using a metallic brain matrix (ASI Instruments, Inc., Warren, MI). The sections located 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 mm posterior to the tip of the olfactory bulb were stained by incubation in a 2% solution of 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride in a 0.9% saline solution at 37 C for 30 min. Slices were then fixed in 10% formalin and photographed, and the ischemic lesion area was determined for each slice using Image-Pro Plus software (Media Cybernetics, Silver Spring, MD). Percent ischemic lesion area was calculated as the sum of the ischemic lesion area for the five slices divided by the total cross-sectional area of these five slices.

Plasma levels of ßE2
Ovariectomized female Sprague Dawley rats were injected sc with either oil vehicle or 100 µg/ml ßE2 or Ent-E2. Blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture, 5 min before injection or 1 h, 4 h, or 24 h post injection. Plasma was stored at -20 C, until assayed using the ultrasensitive ßE2 RIA kit from Diagnostic Systems Laboratories, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Ent-E2 showed no cross-reactivity with the RIA at concentrations up to 10 µM.

Uterotrophic assay
Juvenile (25 days old) female Sprague Dawley rats were injected sc with oil, ßE2 (0.01–1 µg/rat), or Ent-E2 (1–100 µg/rat) daily (at 0830 h) for 3 days. On the fourth day, the rats were killed using methoxyflurane, and the uteri were excised. Extraneous tissue was gently removed from the uteri before wet weight was determined. Vaginal opening was assessed before uterine removal.

Ligand competition of ER binding
5 nM [2,4,6,7-3H]-ßE2 (specific activity, 84.1 Ci/mmol; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ) and 400 pM recombinant human ER{alpha} or ERß (Affinity BioReagents, Inc., Golden, CO) were incubated in ER binding buffer (20 mM Tris, 1 mM EDTA, 400 mM KCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 10% glycerol, 0.1% BSA, pH 7.8) for 1 h at 25 C either with no added steroid (total binding), 1.2 µM diethylstilbestrol (nonspecific binding), or 0.1 nM–10 µM ßE2 or Ent-E2. Bound and unbound radioligand were separated using Sephadex G-25 (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) columns (1.5 ml bed volume) with a 1-ml elution volume. Ten milliliters of scintillation fluid was added, and counts were determined. This method resulted in greater than 90% receptor recovery and less than 15% nonspecific binding.

Brain membrane oxidation
The brain was removed from ovariectomized female Sprague Dawley rat, and the neocortex was homogenized in ice-cold Tris buffer (100 mM, pH 7.4) with 1% Triton X-100 using a Teflon/glass tissue homogenizer. The homogenate was centrifuged at 2,000 rpm for 10 min. The resulting supernatant was incubated with ßE2 or Ent-E2 at concentrations ranging from 0.1–100 µM for 30 min at 37 C. FeSO4 was then added to a final concentration of 200 µM and incubated for an additional 30 min at 37 C. Butylated hydroxytoluene (100 µM) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (100 µM) were then added. 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive products (TBARs) were immediately determined by addition of 0.5% 2-thiobarbituric acid, 3.125% trichloroacetic acid, and 0.2 N HCl; and incubation was performed, at 95 C for 1 h. Samples were centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 10 min, and the absorbance of the supernatant at 532 nm was determined.

Statistical analysis
All data are presented as mean ± SEM. Comparison of ischemic lesion volume was performed using a one-way ANOVA with a Kruskal-Wallis test for planned comparisons between groups. For all other experiments, the significance of differences among groups was determined by one-way ANOVA with a Tukey’s multiple-comparisons test for planned comparisons between groups when a significant difference was detected. For all tests, P < 0.05 was considered significant.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Ent-E2 attenuates oxidative stress-induced death in neuronal cultures
HT-22 cells, transformed hippocampal neurons, are sensitive to glutamate toxicity via a mechanism that involves glutathione depletion and the resulting oxidative stress (39). Exposure of HT-22 cells to 10 mM glutamate caused a 70–75% reduction in neuronal viability, by 24 h of exposure (Fig. 2Go). As previously reported (40), ßE2 treatment, commencing 2 h before glutamate exposure, conferred significant protection in this model, with a 10,000 nM concentration protecting 35 ± 4% of the cells. Ent-E2, performed similarly in this model of neuroprotection, with 100 nM and 10,000 nM Ent-E2 protecting 16 ± 2% and 56 ± 4% of HT-22 cells, respectively.



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Figure 2. Effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 on glutamate toxicity in HT-22 cells. The indicated concentration of steroid was added 2 h before the addition of glutamate (5 mM), and viability was assessed 24 h later using calcein AM fluorescence. Relative fluorescence units were normalized to the respective toxin-free group as 100% viability. Shown is mean ± SEM for four to eight wells, representative of at least two individual experiments. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 vs. toxin only group. Pictured are representative fields stained with calcein AM (green) and propidium iodide (red).

 
In another model of oxidative stress, both ßE2 and Ent-E2 significantly attenuated H2O2-induced toxicity in HT-22 cells (Fig. 3Go). H2O2 exposure resulted in a concentration-dependent toxicity in HT-22 cells with a 30-µM concentration resulting in 21 ± 5% reduction in viability (Fig. 3Go) and a 60-µM concentration resulting in a 97 ± 8% reduction (data not shown);10 nM of either ßE2 or Ent-E2 completely attenuated the toxicity of 30 µM H2O2 and protected 48 ± 14% or 63 ± 8% of the cells from 40 µM H2O2 toxicity, respectively (Fig. 3Go). No protection was seen with the 10 nM concentration of either steroid at H2O2 concentrations greater than 40 µM (data not shown). SK-N-SH cells were more sensitive than HT-22 cells to the toxic effects of H2O2 exposure, with 3 µM H2O2 reducing SK-N-SH cell viability by 32 ± 2% (Fig. 4Go). This kill was significantly attenuated by Ent-E2, with a 1 nM concentration conferring 30 ± 9% protection (Fig. 4Go). In other studies, 1 nM ßE2 prevented 40 ± 5% of H2O2-induced toxicity in SK-N-SH cells (data not shown). Neither steroid exerted protective effects in these low nM concentration ranges with higher concentrations of H2O2 (data not shown).



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Figure 3. Effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 on H2O2 toxicity in HT-22 cells. The steroid (10 nM) was added to HT-22 cells 2 h before the addition of the indicated concentration of H2O2. Viability was assessed 24 h later using calcein AM fluorescence. Relative fluorescence units were normalized to the respective toxin-free group as 0% reduction in viability. Shown is mean ± SEM for four wells, representative of at least two individual experiments. *, P < 0.05 vs. toxin-only group.

 


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Figure 4. Effect of Ent-E2 on H2O2 toxicity in SK-N-SH cells. The indicated concentration of Ent-E2 was added 24 h before the addition of 3 µM H2O2. Viability was assessed 24 h later using calcein AM fluorescence. Relative fluorescence units were normalized to the respective toxin-free group as 100% viability. Shown is mean ± SEM for 3–4 wells, representative of at least two individual experiments. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001 vs. the toxin-only group.

 
Ent-E2 reduces ischemic lesion size after transient MCA occlusion
Transient (1 h) occlusion of the MCA resulted in an average lesion area of 13 ± 2%, with the lesion localized primarily in the parietal cortex and basal ganglia (Fig. 5Go). Comparable with our previous reports (8), sc injection of ßE2, 2 h before onset of ischemia, reduced total lesion area by 60 ± 13%. Administration of Ent-E2 similarly reduced total ischemic area by 60 ± 12%. This estrogen-mediated protection was observed in both neocortical and subcortical/allocortical regions of the ischemic infarct. ßE2 and Ent-E2 reduced neocortical lesion size by 77 ± 11% and 59 ± 12%, respectively. Similarly, subcortical/allocortical lesion volume was reduced by 48 ± 8% and 47 ± 7% by ßE2 and Ent-E2 administration, respectively. The subcortical/allocortical ischemic area includes regions of the caudate/putamen, hypothalamus, and hippocampus.



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Figure 5. Effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 on MCA occlusion-induced lesion volume in ovariectomized female rats. Rats were ovariectomized 2 weeks before occlusion, and steroids were administered, by sc injection, 2 h before onset of focal ischemia. After 1 h of MCA occlusion and 23 h of reperfusion, the brains were removed, and 2-mm slices were prepared at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 mm posterior to the olfactory bulb. Lesion area was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Graphed is mean ± SEM for six rats per group. *, P < 0.05 vs. vehicle-treated rats. Pictured are representative slices for each treatment group.

 
The protective effects of Ent-E2 in this model are not attributable to conversion of Ent-E2 to the more estrogenically potent ßE2. Plasma ßE2 levels after Ent-E2 administration did not change from the preinjection baseline of 0.05 ± 0.01 nM (Fig. 6Go). In contrast, sc injection of ßE2 resulted in a rapid rise in plasma ßE2 levels, with values of 5.16 ± 0.94 nM within 1 h, and returned to near baseline (0.24 ± 0.08 nM) by 24 h.



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Figure 6. Plasma ßE2 levels after ßE2 and Ent-E2 administration. Ovariectomized female Sprague Dawley rats were injected sc with 100 µg/kg of either ßE2 or Ent-E2. Blood was drawn by cardiac puncture, either 5 min before injection, 2 h post injection, 4 h post injection, or 24 h post injection. Plasma was collected, and ßE2 concentration was determined by RIA. Plasma ßE2 concentration is given in nM units: 1 nM = 272 pg/ml. Shown are mean ± SEM for three rats per group.

 
Ent-E2 is a weak ER agonist/antagonist
Daily administration of ßE2 for 3 days caused a dose-dependent increase in uterine wet weight, with a 1-µg/rat dose (average dose of 13.8 µg/kg) increasing wet uterine weight by 2-fold (Fig. 7Go). By contrast, Ent-E2, at doses of 1–10 µg/rat, had no effect on uterine wet weight. At a dose of 100 µg/rat (average dose of 1400 µg/kg), Ent-E2 exerted a slight antiuterotrophic effect, decreasing uterine wet weight by 23 ± 3%. Ent-E2 also slightly antagonized the uterotrophic effects of 1 µg/rat ßE2, with a 100 µg/rat dose reducing the uterotrophic effect of ßE2 by 27 ± 8%. These results are comparable with previous reports in immature mice, where Ent-E2 (doses of about 1200 µg/kg) exerted antiuterotrophic effects (29) and Ent-E2 antagonized the uterotrophic effects of ßE2 when Ent-E2 was present in a 100-fold excess (32).



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Figure 7. Effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 on uterine wet weight in juvenile rats. Twenty-five-day-old female rats were injected sc with the indicated dose of ßE2 or Ent-E2, or concurrent administration of the indicated dose of Ent-E2 with 1 µg/rat ßE2 daily for 3 days. On day 4, the uteri were resected and weighed. Shown are mean ± SEM for three to nine rats per group. *, P < 0.05 vs. oil injection.

 
Daily injections of ßE2 (1 µg/rat) induced vaginal opening in 100% of the animals examined (Table 1Go). Ent-E2 exerted mixed agonist/antagonist effects on vaginal opening, with a 100-µg/rat dose causing vaginal opening in 50% of the juvenile rats. This dose of Ent-E2 prevented ßE2-induced vaginal opening in 40% of the rats. No change in body weight was observed with administration of ßE2, Ent-E2, or combinations thereof. BW of the juvenile rats averaged 72 ± 1 g.


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Table 1. Effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 on vaginal opening in juvenile female rats

 
In competition binding experiments, Ent-E2 showed weak binding to both known ERs, with 4.2% and 6.3% of the relative binding affinity of ßE2 to ER{alpha} and ERß, respectively. Ent-E2 has been previously reported to have 0.9–6% of ßE2’s relative binding affinity to cytosolic uterine ERs (27, 28).

Ent-E2 can attenuate brain lipid oxidation ex vivo
Because estrogens have been previously reported to reduce oxidative damage to brain lipids (41, 42, 43), we examined the potency of both ßE2 and Ent-E2 in an ex vivo assay of brain membrane oxidation. Thirty-minute incubation of the neocortical homogenate resulted in a 16-fold increase in TBAR formation. ßE2 and Ent-E2 were equipotent in the attenuation of FeSO4-induced lipid oxidation, as determined by TBAR formation (Fig. 8Go), with a 50-µM concentration of either steroid significantly attenuating FeSO4-induced TBAR formation.



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Figure 8. ßE2 and Ent-E2 inhibit FeSO4-induced lipid oxidation in a rat brain homogenate. Homogenate was prepared from the neocortical tissue of an ovariectomized female Sprague Dawley rat. Homogenate was incubated with the indicated concentration of steroid for 30 min, and then oxidized by a 30-min incubation with 200 µM FeSO4 at 37 C. The extent of lipid oxidation was determined by TBAR formation. Data were normalized to FeSO4-only group as 100% oxidation. Shown are mean ± SEM for three samples per group. *, P < 0.05 vs. FeSO4-only group.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Ent-E2 was both as potent and efficacious as ßE2 in culture models of neuroprotection; and further, Ent-E2 reduced ischemic lesion area after MCA occlusion to the same degree as ßE2. In contrast, Ent-E2 showed only minimal binding affinity for either known ER, was more than 100-fold less potent than ßE2 in exerting effects on uterine growth or vaginal opening, and had weak antiuterotrophic effects. These data indicate that the neuroprotective effects of estrogens can occur without stimulation of peripheral estrogen-responsive tissues.

The neuroprotective effects of Ent-E2 are not likely caused by conversion to the more estrogenically potent ßE2, because the conversion requires isomerization of five individual chiral carbons. Isomerization of the 17-hydroxy group could be facilitated by 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; however, Ent-E2 is not a substrate for this enzyme (35). Further, there was no detectable increase in plasma ßE2 levels during 24 h after sc injection of Ent-E2 in female rats, indicating that Ent-E2 is itself neuroprotective.

The minimal neuroprotective concentration of both ßE2 and Ent-E2 varied with the cell culture model used. High physiological concentrations (low nM) were sufficient to attenuate H2O2-induced toxicity in SK-N-SH cells, but significantly higher supraphysiological concentrations (low µM) were required to lessen glutamate toxicity in HT-22 cells. This difference in the neuroprotective potency of estrogens between these models may be attributable to a number of factors, including differences in culture media and differences in toxicity. Further, the concentration of steroid required for protection may depend on the degree of insult, because low concentrations of Ent-E2 or ßE2 did not protect SK-N-SH or HT-22 cells from H2O2 exposure if viability was reduced by more than 70% (P. S. Green and J. W. Simpkins, unpublished observations).

The high doses of Ent-E2 used in some, but not all, of the experiments in the present report could show appreciable ER binding; however, this does not adequately explain the equipotent neuroprotection conferred by the enantiomer. The 16- to 100-fold-lower affinity of Ent-E2 for the known ERs (this report, and 27, 28) would be apparent as a similar 16- to 100-fold-lower potency in effects mediated by either ER{alpha} or ERß. This potency difference was seen in uterotrophic and vaginal opening responses but not in assays of neuroprotection. Regardless of the minimum dose required for neuroprotection in each model, Ent-E2 attenuated neuronal death with a potency equivalent to that of ßE2. This result indicates that enantiospecific interactions between estrogens and other cellular molecules are not required for the neuroprotective actions of estrogens.

Several lines of evidence connote that the neuroprotective effects of estrogens do not require ER-dependent gene transcription, including potent neuroprotective efficacy of several nonfeminizing estrogens including Ent-E2 ( Figs. 2–5GoGoGoGo) and 17{alpha}-estradiol (16, 21, 22, 23). Further, functional ERs have not been found in either HT-22 cells (40, 44) or SK-N-SH cells (22), although this study ( Figs. 2–4GoGoGo) and others (16, 21, 22, 23, 40, 44) demonstrate estrogen-mediated protection of these neuronal cell lines. Similarly, ßE2-mediated protection can occur in the presence of ER antagonists (16, 17, 18, 19, 20). Together, these findings, though not excluding a role for ERs in neuroprotection, implicate cellular mechanisms other than classical ER activity in the neuroprotective effects of estrogens.

Antioxidant effects have been proposed as one mechanism for the neuroprotective effects of estrogens (19). Interestingly, the structure-activity relationship for the antioxidant effects of estrogens (42) is identical to the structure-activity relationship for the neuroprotective effects (22, 23). Further, it has been reported that the concentrations of ßE2 that are capable of exerting ex vivo antioxidant effects were required for neuroprotective effects (19). ßE2 attenuation of lipid peroxidation has been shown to require µM concentrations (19, 41, 42, 43). The neuroprotective concentration for ßE2 in culture models ranges from 0.1 nM (21, 45) to 50 µM (18). In this study, ex vivo antioxidant effects of ßE2 and Ent-E2 required a minimum concentration of 50 µM, whereas neuroprotective effects were seen at much lower concentrations.

Neuronal effects of estrogens with weak ER agonist activity are being increasingly described. The classically inactive estrogen, 17{alpha}-estradiol, has been shown to be neuroprotective in both culture (16, 21, 22, 23) and MCA occlusion models (8). Similarly, the weak ER agonist dihydroequilin has been shown to exert neurotrophic effects in cultured neurons (46). The cellular mechanisms for these effects of weak ER agonists is not known; however, several cellular effects of 17{alpha}-estradiol have been described. Exposure to {alpha}E2 can activate the MAP kinase pathway (47), and this pathway is implicated in ßE2-mediated neuroprotection (14). In addition, {alpha}E2 has also been shown to have several other direct effects on neurons, including modulation of the mitochondrial Na+/K+-ATPase activity (48), alteration of membrane fluidity (49), and inhibition of toxin-induced activation of NF{kappa}B (P. S. Green and J. W. Simpkins, unpublished observations). It is unknown whether Ent-E2 can also interact with any of these cellular pathways.

A profusion of data indicates that estrogens enhance the survival of neurons both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that estrogens may be useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease or acute neuronal death. Estrogens, such as Ent-E2, may offer the beneficial neuroprotective effects of estrogens without the complicating peripheral estrogenic actions and could be useful in both men and women for whom estrogen therapy is contraindicated.


    Acknowledgments
 
The authors wish to thank Y-J. He, L. A. Stubley, and J. Cutright for technical assistance in this project.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by NIH Grants AG-10485 (to J.W.S.) and GM- 47969 (to D.F.C.), U.S. Army Grant DAMD-17–99-1–9473 (to J.W.S.), and Apollo Biopharmaceutics, Inc. funding (to J.W.S. and D.F.C.). Back

Received June 13, 2000.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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