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Hemin protects against cell stress induced by estrogen and progesterone in rat mammary glands via modulation of Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-κB pathways

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Cell Stress and Chaperones Aims and scope

Abstract

Mammary gland hyperplasia is one of the risk factors for breast cancer. Till date, there is no study that has addressed the effect of hemin in this condition. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of the heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) inducer (hemin) and its inhibitor (zinc protoporphyrin-IX) (ZnPP-IX) on mammary gland hyperplasia (MGH) induced by estrogen and progesterone in adult albino rats. Forty adult female albino rats were divided into the control group, MGH group, MGH + Hemin group, and MGH + Hemin + ZnPP-IX group. Serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were measured. Breast tissues were taken for estimation of oxidative, inflammatory, and apoptotic markers. Mammary gland histology was performed, and expression of Ki-67, Beclin, and P53 in breast tissue was also measured. Estrogen and progesterone administration induced hyperplasia of cells lining the ducts of the breast tissues associated with increased diameter and height of the nipples as well as increased oxidative stress markers, inflammatory markers, antiapoptotic markers, and cell autophagy. Hemin administration during induction of MGH can reverse all the affected parameters. Then, these effects were abolished by ZnPP-IX administration. We concluded that hemin administration can antagonize the cell stress induced by estrogen and progesterone and protect against the development of mammary gland hyperplasia via modulation of Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-κB pathways.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

All authors are sincerely thankful for the exerted efforts of the technicians in the departments of Physiology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University for their help during the accomplishment of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, 61111, Egypt

    Heba A. Abdel-Hamid

  2. Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al Baha, Saudi Arabia

    Heba A. Abdel-Hamid

  3. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, 61111, Egypt

    Heba Marey

  4. Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, 61111, Egypt

    Manar Fouli Gaber Ibrahim

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  1. Heba A. Abdel-Hamid
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Contributions

All authors agreed to take responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and accepted its submission. Dr Heba A. Abdel-Hamid performed the research protocol, the experiment, results collection and analysis, and wrote the manuscript. Dr Manar Fouli Gaber Ibrahim performed, wrote, and analyzed the histopathology part and the immunohistochemistry sections. Dr Heba Marey performed and wrote the RT-PCR analysis. All authors revised the final version of the manuscript and agreed on its publication.

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Correspondence to Heba A. Abdel-Hamid.

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Abdel-Hamid, H.A., Marey, H. & Ibrahim, M.F.G. Hemin protects against cell stress induced by estrogen and progesterone in rat mammary glands via modulation of Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-κB pathways. Cell Stress and Chaperones 28, 289–301 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-023-01337-w

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