雌激素受体在甲状腺癌中作用的研究进展

近年来,越来越多的研究报道了雌激素受体在甲状腺癌发生发展过程中的作用。与正常甲状腺组织和结节性增生组织相比,不同亚型的雌激素受体在甲状腺癌中的表达有不同的改变:乳头状甲状腺癌中雌激素受体的表达与Ki67、突变型P53和VEGF这些重要肿瘤标志物有关;ERα与IQGAP1相互作用促进甲状腺癌进展;ERα在甲状腺癌中上调Hsp27表达,等等。这些研究结果确定了雌激素受体对甲状腺癌增殖、侵袭和转移等病理过程的影响,但不同亚型的雌激素受体对甲状腺癌影响尚不完全明确。现就雌激素受体在甲状腺癌中的相关研究进行综述。     

药物治疗浓度的雌激素对卵巢癌3AO细胞生长的影响

在过去的20年里,人们对于雌激素在不同组织、器官中发挥不同功能的分子机制进行了深入的研究,并取得了非常快的进展。最近的研究表明,雌激素能够抑制包括卵巢癌在内的多种肿瘤细胞的生长。卵巢是女性雌激素的主要来源,多种卵巢细胞表达雌激素受体,其中包括90％以上的卵巢癌起源的卵巢表面上皮细胞。雌激素诱导卵巢癌细胞凋亡的研究非常有实验及临床价值,雌激素调控的凋亡相关的特异性基因的发现对于揭示卵巢癌的发生发展以及针对卵巢癌特异性治疗的研究将会提供巨大的帮助。以人卵巢癌3AO细胞为模型,探讨了药物治疗浓度的雌激素对卵巢癌细胞的凋亡诱导作用以及其可能机制。首先用MTT检测方法观察了雌二醇及其受体拮抗剂ICI 182780对3AO细胞生长的影响。研究发现,高于0．1pmol／L浓度的雌二醇能够抑制3AO细胞的生长,其中5pmol／L浓度的雌二醇处理3AO细胞72h后,对3AO细胞的抑制率达到70％。雌激素受体的拮抗剂ICI 182780不但不能阻断雌激素的效应,它本身也能抑制3AO细胞的生长,并且与雌激素有协同效应,并且经流式细胞术证实雌激素及其受体拮抗剂引起的3AO细胞的死亡为凋亡。雌激素对生长的调控是细胞类型特异性的,其机制可能与细胞内雌激素受体不同亚型的表达有关。细胞内雌激素受体β亚型的表达利于细胞凋亡的发生,细胞内雌激素受体α亚型的表达则会保护细胞免于凋亡的发生。在对雌激素诱导的凋亡发生机制的探讨过程中,我们发现3AO细胞只表达雌激素受体β亚型,而不表达雌激素受体α亚型,并且与α亚型相比,β亚型的表达明显降低,这可以解释为何需要高浓度的雌激素才能够诱导3AO细胞凋亡。我们又观察了大分子BSA标记的雌激素对3AO细胞生长的影响,结果发现这种不能通过细胞膜的雌激素失去了对3AO细胞生长的抑制作用,从而排除了雌激素的膜效应。近来的研究表明,MAPK信号通路在调控细胞的生长过程中发挥了重要的作用,并且参与了雌激素调控细胞生长的过程。接下来我们观察了MAPK信号通路在雌激素诱导3AO细胞生长中的作用。研究发现,p38／MAPK激酶的抑制剂SB203580部分的阻断了雌激素的生长抑制效应,而JNK／MAPK激酶的抑制剂SP600125则能促进雌激素的效应,提示MAPK信号通路参与了雌激素的这种效应。     

雌激素受体信号转导的研究

雌激素受体(estrogen receptor,ER)是核受体超家族的成员之一,雌激素及其类似物可以通过雌激素受体调控许多基因的表达。目前已经发现的雌激素受体包括两种亚型:ERα和ERβ。二者在不同的细胞类型中,针对不同的基因发挥不同的调控作用,进而引发多种多样的生物学效应。本文旨在就目前对雌激素受体信号转导途径的研究进展作一综述。     

雌激素受体在脑内的表达与缺血再灌注损伤

雌激素作为一种内源性激素参与多器官生理过程的调节,通过与雌激素受体结合或介导不同雌激素受体间的协作而发挥效应,其中在中枢神经系统疾病的发展中具有保护作用已受到人们的广泛关注。脑卒中作为一种高发疾病,具有明显的性别差异性,因此对脑内雌激素的研究为脑卒中的预防及治疗提供了新的方向。我们针对雌激素受体不同亚型在脑内的分布及其在缺血再灌注损伤中的作用研究进展做简要综述。     

雌激素受体亚型及其配体调节基因转录机制的研究

本文综述雌激素受体亚型（ERα和ERβ）的结构,功能,组织分布,生理作用及雌激素受体配体调节基因转录的机制,目的是深入系统地了解植物雌激素和选择性雌激素受体调节剂的作用路径及其组织特异性的发生机制,最终为提高雌激素类药物的选择性,优化以临床为基础的药物设计提供一条较为系统的思路。结果表明,ERα和ERβ对不同雌激素类化合物产生不同应答,配体的结构不同,调节基因转录的路径不同和募集的辅调节蛋白的不同是雌激素受体两种亚型组织特异性激活或抑制的主要原因。     

选择性雌激素受体调节剂

雌激素替代疗法（estrogen replacement therapy,ERT）是治疗绝经后综合征的首选治疗方案,但是长期应用导致子宫内膜增生、乳腺癌等。选择性雌激素受体调节剂主要通过ER亚型、共调节子、靶启动子、雌激素受体相关受体等机制实现其组织选择性,在发挥骨骼、心血管保护作用的同时,减少了对乳腺及生殖系统的副作用。目前,选择性雌激素受体调节剂的种类、作用的组织特异性及其临床应用在医学界引起广泛关注,具有广阔的发展前景。     

雌激素受体β与相关肿瘤研究进展

雌激素通过与特定的雌激素受体相互作用发挥重要的细胞生长和分化作用。雌激素受体是属于细胞核受体超家族的配体依赖性的反式作用子。尽管最初认为雌激素由单一的受体,即传统的雌激素受体,现称为ERα介导其作用,第二个ER新亚型,现称为ERβ,1996年被发现,并由此引发了一场对于雌激素在正常生理学和疾病过程的作用重新评价。自从发现ERβ以来,其作为相关肿瘤的预警因子以及其潜在的作为药物介入的新靶点的价值成为研究热点。在过去的10年中,我们对雌激素信号的理解有很大改变。现在,已知ERα和ERβ组织细胞分布和功能不同。ERβ存在于许多正常和疾病组织中,包括生殖系统和其他组织器官的恶性肿瘤,如乳腺、子宫内膜、卵巢、前列腺和结肠直肠癌以及其他肿瘤。因此,ERβ在这些肿瘤的发生发展和治疗方面的作用引起了人们越来越多的关注。现就ERβ在雌激素相关肿瘤的发生、发展、预后评估以及治疗意义进行综述。     

雌激素受体参与疼痛调控的研究进展

雌激素受体属转录因子核受体超家族成员。雌激素受体的两个亚型ERα和ERβ都有类似于核受体超家族成员的调节结构,介导雌激素参与生理和病理过程中的多种效应。ERα和ERβ广泛分布于神经系统中疼痛调节相关的区域,大量动物实验及临床研究资料证实ERα和ERβ参与急、慢性疼痛的调控。本文拟对雌激素受体的特性及其在疼痛调控中的作用予以阐述。     

ERβ对子宫内膜异位症小鼠模型的影响

目的通过建立子宫内膜异位症小鼠模型探讨雌激素β受体对子宫内膜异位症的影响。方法利用雌激素β基因敲除小鼠建立自体子宫内膜异位模型;应用人不同的组织在SCID小鼠建立子宫内膜异位症模型后,注射雌激素β受体激动剂WAY-200070,观察其对异位病灶生长的影响。结果比较30只雌激素β受体基因敲除小鼠及22只同源未敲除小鼠异位病灶生长及组织细胞形态无明显差异（P〉0.05）;雌激素β受体激动剂WAY-200070对不同类型的SCID小鼠内异症病灶生长影响无明显差异（P〉0.1）。结论雌激素β受体对子宫内膜异位病灶的形成影响作用微弱。     

雌激素及其受体在内耳发育和功能上的作用

雌激素在生殖系统、认知记忆系统、骨骼和神经的发育及其功能维持等多种生理功能中扮演了重要的作用。近年来,在内耳发育及其功能研究过程中,许多学者发现在听力和平衡系统功能上的性别差异可能归根因于不同性别的雌激素水平差异。这些研究表明,雌激素及其受体在内耳发育、听力和平衡系统功能维持上也具有重要作用。该文用一个新的视角聚焦于雌激素及其受体在内耳发育和功能上的研究进展。该综述能为进一步研究雌激素在听力和平衡系统中的作用机制及相关疾病的临床治疗提供参考。     

Differential Ligand Binding Affinities of Human Estrogen Receptor-α Isoforms

Rapid non-genomic effects of 17β-estradiol are elicited by the activation of different estrogen receptor-α isoforms. Presence of surface binding sites for estrogen have been identified in cells transfected with full-length estrogen receptor-α66 (ER66) and the truncated isoforms, estrogen receptor-α46 (ER46) and estrogen receptor-α36 (ER36). However, the binding affinities of the membrane estrogen receptors (mERs) remain unknown due to the difficulty of developing of stable mER-transfected cell lines with sufficient mER density, which has largely hampered biochemical binding studies. The present study utilized cell-free expression systems to determine the binding affinities of 17β-estradiol to mERs, and the relationship among palmitoylation, membrane insertion and binding affinities. Saturation binding assays of human mERs revealed that [³H]-17β-estradiol bound ER66 and ER46 with K_d values of 68.81 and 60.72 pM, respectively, whereas ER36 displayed no specific binding within the tested concentration range. Inhibition of palmitoylation or removal of the nanolipoprotein particles, used as membrane substitute, reduced the binding affinities of ER66 and ER46 to 17β-estradiol. Moreover, ER66 and ER46 bound differentially with some estrogen receptor agonists and antagonists, and phytoestrogens. In particular, the classical estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780, had a higher affinity for ER66 than ER46. In summary, the present study defines the binding affinities for human estrogen receptor-α isoforms, and demonstrates that ER66 and ER46 show characteristics of mERs. The present data also indicates that palmitoylation and membrane insertion of mERs are important for proper receptor conformation allowing 17β-estradiol binding. The differential binding of ER66 and ER46 with certain compounds substantiates the prospect of developing mER-selective drugs.     

Rapid Changes in Cardiac Myofilament Function following the Acute Activation of Estrogen Receptor-Alpha

Estrogens have well-recognized and complex cardiovascular effects, including altering myocardial contractility through changes in myofilament function. The presence of multiple estrogen receptor (ER) isoforms in the heart may explain some discrepant findings about the cardiac effects of estrogens. Most studies examining the impact of estrogens on the heart have focused on chronic changes in estrogen levels, and have not investigated rapid, non-genomic pathways. The first objective of this study was to determine how acute activation of ERα impacts cardiac myofilaments. Nongenomic myocardial estrogen signaling is associated with the activation of a variety of signaling pathways. p38 MAPK has been implicated in acute ER signaling in the heart, and is known to affect myofilament function. Thus, the second objective of this study was to determine if acute ERα activation mediates its myofilament effects through p38 MAPK recruitment. Hearts from female C57Bl/6 mice were perfused with the ERα agonist PPT and myofilaments isolated. Activation of ERα depressed actomyosin MgATPase activity and decreased myofilament calcium sensitivity. Inhibition of p38 MAPK attenuated the myofilament effects of ERα activation. ERα stimulation did not affect global myofilament protein phosphorylation, but troponin I phosphorylation at the putative PKA phosphorylation sites was decreased. Changes in myofilament activation did not translate into alterations in whole heart function. The present study provides evidence supporting rapid, non-genomic changes in cardiac myofilament function following acute ERα stimulation mediated by the p38 MAPK pathway.     

Computational Study of Evolutionary Selection Pressure on Rainbow Trout Estrogen Receptors

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to determine the binding affinities between the hormone 17-estradiol (E2) and different estrogen receptor (ER) isoforms in the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Previous phylogenetic analysis indicates that a whole genome duplication prior to the divergence of ray-finned fish led to two distinct ER isoforms, ER and ER, and the recent whole genome duplication in the ancestral salmonid created two ER isoforms, ER and ER. The objective of our computational studies is to provide insight into the underlying evolutionary pressures on these isoforms. For the ER subtype our results show that E2 binds preferentially to ER over ER. Tests of lineage specific N/S ratios indicate that the ligand binding domain of the ER gene is evolving under relaxed selection relative to all other ER genes. Comparison with the highly conserved DNA binding domain suggests that ER may be undergoing neofunctionalization possibly by binding to another ligand. By contrast, both ER and ER bind similarly to E2 and the best fitting model of selection indicates that the ligand binding domain of all ER genes are evolving under the same level of purifying selection, comparable to ER.     

Estrogen receptor β signaling regulates the progression of Chinese non-small cell lung cancer

Prospective studies have found that the risk of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has close relationship with estrogen. The effects of estrogens are mediated via two estrogen receptor (ER) isoforms, that is, ER alpha (ERα) and ER beta (ERβ). ERα in NSCLC has been evaluated mostly by immunohistochemistry. However, our previous study showed that ERβ was also highly expressed in Chinese NSCLC. But the roles of ERβ in Chinese NSCLC have not been clarified as yet. So in the present study, two Chinese lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, SPC-A1 and LTEP-a2, were used and the role of ERβ in lung tumorigenesis was focused to be investigated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results showed that over-expressed ERβ can promote the development of NSCLC, while siRNAs targeting ERβ gene can inhibit growth of NSCLC cells and induce apoptosis of these cells via mitochondrial depolarization and caspase-3 activation. These results indicated that ERβ plays an important role in development of Chinese NSCLC. This suggests that ERβ deactivation or down-regulation may possess potential therapeutic utility for the treatment of lung cancer.     

Targeting Estrogen Receptors for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

The significantly higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in women than in men has been attributed to loss of estrogen and a variety of related mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, and hormonal levels, which subsequently elucidate neuroprotective roles of estrogen against AD-related pathology. Recent studies have proposed that beneficial effects of estrogen on AD are directly linked to its ability to reduce amyloid-β peptides and tau aggregates, two hallmark lesions of AD. Despite high expectations, large clinical trials with postmenopausal women indicated that the beneficial effects of estrogen therapies were insignificant and, in fact, elicited adverse effects. Here, we review the current status of AD prevention and treatment using estrogens focusing on recent understandings of their biochemical links to AD pathophysiology. This review also discusses development of selective ligands that specifically target either estrogen receptor α (ERα) or ERβ isoforms, which are potentially promising strategies for safe and efficient treatment of AD.