Fig. 4.

Effects of ginsenoside Rf on estrogen and androgen receptor transcriptional activation. (A) MCF-7 cells were transiently transfected with ERE-luciferase reporter gene. The following day, MCF-7 cells were cultured in medium containing vehicle or ginsenoside Rf (1–10 μM) and/or E2 (10 nM) for 24 h, and luciferase activities were determined. (B) MCF-7 cells were transiently transfected with ERE-luciferase reporter gene. The following day, MCF-7 cells were pretreated with vehicle or ginsenoside Rf (10 μM) or ICI 182,780 (1 μM) for 1 h and then treat E2 (500 pM) during 24 h, and luciferase activities were determined. (C) AR-Ecoscreen cells were stably transfected with AR and ARE-luciferase reporter gene. AR-Ecoscreen cells were cultured in medium containing vehicle or ginsenoside Rf (1–10 μM) or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (1 nM) for 24 h, and luciferase activities were determined. (D) AR-Ecoscreen cells were pretreated with vehicle or ginsenoside Rf (10 μM) or CDX (5 μM) for 1 h and then treat DHT (1 nM) during 24 h, and luciferase activities were determined. Values represent the mean ± SD (N = 3). All experiments were repeated at least three times. * represents p < 0.05, ** represents p < 0.01, *** represents p < 0.001, p > 0.05 is indicated by “n.s.” for not significant. AR, androgen receptor; CDX, bicalutamide; ERE, estrogen response element; SD, standard deviation.