In this study, the estrogenic effect of GL-1, a component of the Ganoderma lucidum, was studied, and the possible mechanism was discussed preliminarily. The binding ability of GL-1 to estrogen receptor was calculated by computer aided simulation. The effects of GL-1 on the proliferation of estrogen sensitive estrogen receptor (ER) (+) MCF-7 cells and estrogen insensitive ER (-) MDA-MB-231 cells were detected by MTT method. The effects of GL-1 on the proliferation of estrogen-induced MCF-7 cells, and the effects of the estrogen receptor inhibitor ICI182780 on the proliferation of GL-1-induced MCF-7 cells were detected by MTT assay. The expression of ERα and ERβ monoclonal antibody were detected by Western blot. The results showed that GL-1 has a good binding ability to estrogen receptor β, and has estrogen-like effect, which might be related to secretion of estrogen and expression of ERβ by binding to ERs.
Keywords: Ganoderma lucidum; estrogen; estrogen receptor; phenol.