Cysteine Prevents Menopausal Syndromes in Ovariectomized Mouse

Abstract

Cysteine (Cys) is well known to be involved in oxidation-reduction reactions, serving as a source of sulfides in the body. Amino acids are known to improve menopausal symptoms and significantly reduce morbidity. This study aims to find an unrevealed effect of Cys with estrogenic and osteogenic actions. Ovariectomized (OVX) mice were treated with Cys daily for 8 weeks. Estrogen-related and osteoporosis-related factors were analyzed in the vagina, serum, and tibia. Cys was treated in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and ER-positive human breast cancer Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells. Cysteine administration ameliorated overweightness of the body and vaginal atrophy in the OVX mice. Cysteine increased the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and 17β-estradiol in the serum of the OVX mice and improved the bone mineral density in the OVX mice. In MG-63 cells, Cys increased the proliferation, ERβ messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, and estrogen response element (ERE) activity. Cysteine increased the ALP activity and the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase. In MCF-7 cells, Cys also increased the proliferation, ERβ mRNA expression, and ERE activity. Taken together, these results demonstrated that Cys has estrogenic and osteogenic activities in OVX mice, MG-63 cells, and MCF-7 cells. The novel insights gained here strongly imply the potential use of Cys as a new agent for postmenopausal women.

Metabolomic profiles associated with bone mineral density in US Caucasian women

“…Also, recent metabolomics studies reported that the amino acids including glutamine [ 8 ], tryptophan [ 9 ], and cystine [ 10 ] were associated with BMD in postmenopausal women of East Asian. Of these identified BMD-related amino acids in our study, GABA [ 28 ], cysteine [ 29 ], taurine [ 30 ], and glutamic acid [ 31 ] have shown some evidence for their potential roles in bone metabolism by in vitro and/or in vivo studies.…”

“…It is an important source of sulfur in human metabolism. In ovariectomized (OVX) mice, cysteine administration improved BMD and other menopausal symptoms [ 29 ]. N-acetyl cysteine, a derivative of cysteine, can function as an osteogenesis-enhancing molecule to accelerate bone regeneration by activating differentiation of osteogenic lineages [ 34 ].…”

Hypericum perforatum L. Regulates Glutathione Redox Stress and Normalizes Ggt1/Anpep Signaling to Alleviate OVX-Induced Kidney Dysfunction

“…Anpep, also known as aminopeptidase N or CD13, constitutes a multifunctional membrane-bound zincdependent metalloprotease that is ubiquitously conserved in renal, intestinal, placental, brain, and hepatic tissues and is also expressed on monocytes and myeloid progenitor cells (Dringen et al, 2001;Rawlings et al, 2006). Upon degradation by Anpep, cysteine participates in oxidation-reduction reactions, providing sulfides in the body to regulate proliferation, ERβ mRNA expression, and estrogen response element activity (Han et al, 2016). Taurine, which is further catalyzed from Cys by cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase, exerts an effect as an inhibitory neurotransmitter on the central nervous system (Renteria et al, 2004;Kim and Kim, 2005).…”

Histological changes in the vulva and vagina from ovariectomised rats undergoing oestrogen treatment

“…The ovariectomy in the rat induces permanent anoestrus, but it is not similar to the human physiological menopause. This experimental model plays an important role in understanding the pathophysiological modifications of the anoestrus syndrome, thus helping in the development of multiple adjuvant therapies [5,12].…”