Open AccessSoybean isoflavones alter parvalbumin in hippocampus of mid‐aged normal female, ovariectomized female, and normal male rats 1
Author(s) -
HWANG In Koo,
LEE Yoonbok,
YOO Kiyeon,
KANG Taecheon,
LIM Soon Sung,
KIM Sang Moo,
SOHN Heonsoo,
KIM Woojung,
SHIN Hyun Kyung,
WON Moo Ho
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pharmacologica sinica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.514
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1745-7254
pISSN - 1671-4083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2006.00258.x
Subject(s) - dentate gyrus , ovariectomized rat , endocrinology , medicine , hippocampal formation , parvalbumin , hippocampus , isoflavones , menopause , immunostaining , biology , estrogen , immunohistochemistry , neuroscience
Aim: To investigate the long‐term effect of soybean isoflavones on changes in parvalbumin (P V) immunoreactivity in the hippocampus in normal female, ovariectomized (OVX) female and normal male rats. Methods: Ten‐month‐old rats were assigned to one of 9 groups (n=7 in each group) based on body weight using a randomized complete‐block design. The groups were: control diet‐treated females, OVX females, and males; 0.3 g/kg isoflavone‐treated females, OVX females, and males; and 1.2 g/kg isoflavone‐treated females, OVX females, and males. The PV immunostaining was conducted by using the standard avidin‐biotin complex method. Results: PV immunoreactivity and the number of PV‐immunoreactive neurons in all the groups after isoflavone treatment were significantly changed in the hippocampal CA1 region and in the dentate gyrus, but not in the hippocampal CA2/3 region. PV immunoreactivity and the number of PV‐immunoreactive neurons in the control diet OVX females were similar to those in the control diet, and were greater than those in the control diet normal females. PV immunoreactivity and the number of PV‐immunoreactive neurons in all the isoflavone‐treated groups decreased dose‐dependently after isoflavone treatment. Conclusion: Long‐term administration of isoflavones may induce a reduction of PV in interneurons in the hippocampal CA1 region and in the dentate gyrus. The reduction of PV in these regions suggests that the long‐term administration of isoflavones may cause a change in calcium homeostasis in the hippocampal CA1 region and in the dentate gyrus.