Silkworm is an insect that feeds on mulberry leaves only, and silkworm powder has been reported to have antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and anticholesterol activities. In this study, we measured the content of 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) in 24 different extracts from silkworm cocoons and also investigated the estrogenic activities of these extracts and their effects on the activation of intracellular signaling pathways in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Among the 24 silkworm extracts, relatively high 1-DNJ content and estrogenic activity were shown by Extract 11 (30E3H20-1), which was prepared by a single extraction of silkworm powder with 20 times the volume of 30% ethanol against each powder weight for 3 h. The estrogen receptor activity of this extract was confirmed based on its promoting effects on the phosphorylation of the estrogen receptor α (ERα) and mRNA expression of the ESR1 and ESR2 genes. In addition, treatment with Extract 11 (30E3H20-1) increased the phosphorylation of AKT, p38, and JNK, which are downstream proteins of ERα. Based on our findings, a silkworm extract could be developed as a natural estrogen supplement in the future.

中文翻译：

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冻干蚕提取物通过激活 MCF-7 细胞中的雌激素受体的雌激素活性

蚕是一种仅以桑叶为食的昆虫，据报道蚕粉具有抗氧化、降血糖和抗胆固醇活性。在这项研究中，我们测量了 24 种不同的蚕茧提取物中 1-脱氧野尻霉素 (1-DNJ) 的含量，并研究了这些提取物的雌激素活性及其对 MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞细胞内信号通路激活的影响。 . 在 24 种蚕提取物中，提取物 11 (30E3H20-1) 显示出较高的 1-DNJ 含量和雌激素活性，该提取物是通过单次提取蚕粉与每粉重量的 20 倍体积的 30% 乙醇制备的3小时。该提取物的雌激素受体活性基于其对雌激素受体α (ERα) 磷酸化和 ESR1 和 ESR2 基因 mRNA 表达的促进作用得到证实。此外，用 Extract 11 (30E3H20-1) 处理增加了 AKT、p38 和 JNK 的磷酸化，它们是 ERα 的下游蛋白。根据我们的研究结果，蚕提取物可以在未来开发为天然雌激素补充剂。