2003 Volume 53 Issue 1 Pages 19-23
Interactive effects between emodin and genistein were investigated using the rat vascular smooth muscle cell line A-10. Genistein significantly retarded the proliferation. While emodin alone also retarded the proliferation, its effect was reversed in the presence of genistein. It appeared that emodin cancelled the effect of genistein. Exposure to high concentrations of genistein resulted in a reduction of TNF-αinduced MCP-1 secretion. Concomitant treatments of emodin and genistein had more effect on TNF-α induced MCP-1 secretion compared to emodin treatment alone. A slight decrease in TIMP-2 secretion was observed in 100μM genistein-treated cells, and the results of concomitant treatments of emodin and genistein showed the same tendencies as those seen with MCP-1 secretion. Consequently, it is likely that their effects on MCP-1 and TIMP-2 secretions were additive. With regard to MCP-1 and TIMP-2 secretions, it is suggested that emodin and genistein share the same signal transduction pathways, and thus reinforce the signal transduction to exert the additive effects. Conversely, emodin appeared to interfere with the effect of genistein on proliferation, suggesting that the mechanism of inhibition of proliferation is different from those of the other two phenomena.