Effect of prenatal and prepubertal genistein exposure on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumorigenesis in female Sprague-Dawley rats.

Abstract

The majority of the mammary carcinomas in the present study were hormone-dependent. The present findings suggest that administration of genistein in the perinatal period has protective effects against MNU-induced mammary carcinoma in Sprague-Dawley rats, via reduction of levels of ER alpha- and/or PgR-positive cells (presumed progenitor cells of mammary carcinomas), p63-positive mammary progenitor/stem cells (involved in cell renewal) and PCNA-positive cells (necessary for cell proliferation).