Adverse Effects of Coumestrol and Genistein on Mammary Morphogenesis and Future Milk Production Ability of Mammary Epithelial Cells.

Isoflavones are a class of flavonoids present in legumes and are called phytoestrogens because of their estrogen-like activity. Endogenous estrogen is well known to regulate mammary gland morphogenesis during pregnancy. Each isoflavone also has different physiological activities.

IL-1β directly inhibits milk lipid production in lactating mammary epithelial cells concurrently with enlargement of cytoplasmic lipid droplets.

Mammary epithelial cells (MECs) in lactating mammary glands produce milk lipid, which provides a large percentage of calories and bioactive lipids for appropriate infant growth. However, secreted milk lipid is often reduced concurrently with increases in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in mammary glands with mastitis. In this study, we investigated whether those cytokines directly influenced lipid production and secretion.