What is the structure and function of estrogen receptor?

Estrogen receptors, comprised of ERα and ERβ isoforms in mammals, act as ligand-modulated transcription factors and orchestrate a plethora of cellular functions from sexual development and reproduction to metabolic homeostasis.

What genes does estrogen regulate?

(B) Estrogen receptor (ER) α, FOXA1, and FOXP1 immunoreactivities are predominantly observed in the nucleus. In addition to the estrogen-responsive genes identified by our group, many other genes have been found to be estrogen-regulated, using techniques such as RT-PCR and Northern and Western blot analyses.

What is the function of human estrogen receptor?

ER is a transcription factor and a member of the nuclear receptor super family. ER regulates the transcription of hundreds of genes and ultimately leads to cell division, and has an important role in mammary gland development and the cell proliferation growth that occurs during pregnancy.

What type of receptor is the estrogen receptor?

Estrogen receptors (ERs) are members of the superfamily class of nuclear receptors located in either the cell cytoplasm or nucleus and which function as transcription factors (Lovejoy, 2005).

Where are estrogen receptors found?

The ERα is found in endometrium, breast cancer cells, ovarian stromal cells, and the hypothalamus. In males, ERα protein is found in the epithelium of the efferent ducts.

What does the estrogen receptor bind to?

Once activated by estrogen, the ER is able to translocate into the nucleus and bind to DNA to regulate the activity of different genes (i.e. it is a DNA-binding transcription factor).

What is estrogen receptor status?

Describes cells that have a protein that binds to the hormone estrogen. Cancer cells that are estrogen receptor positive may need estrogen to grow. These cells may stop growing or die when treated with substances that block the binding and actions of estrogen. Also called ER positive.

How is estrogen receptor regulated?

As a nuclear receptor, ER has a DNA-binding domain (DBD) that enables it to directly regulate gene expression events and a ligand-binding domain (LBD) that renders it responsive to an activating ligand, namely oestrogen.

Where is the estrogen receptor located?

The estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is found predominately in the nucleus, both in hormone stimulated and untreated cells. Intracellular distribution of the ERα changes in the presence of agonists but the impact of different antiestrogens on the fate of ERα is a matter of debate.

What activates estrogen receptor?

ESTROGEN RECEPTOR LIGAND INDEPENDENT SIGNALING This ligand-independent estrogen receptor activation is mainly triggered by phosphorylation on specific residues (e.g. serine and tyrosine) in the receptors themselves, or their association with coregulators (described below).