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Modulation of Estrogen Receptor α Action and Its Related Diseases
Xiao-Xia Liu, Yao-Yao Zhai, Yue Zhao*
The Laboratory of Chromatin Biology, Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Public Health Ministry of China,Department of Medical Cell Biology of Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China
Abstract: Estrogen receptor (ERα) is one member of nuclear receptor families， which act as transcription factors in a ligand-dependent manner. It is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of target cells. Traditionally， in the treatment of estrogen， ERα directly binds to ER-response element (ERE) located in the upper stream of target genes (promoter region)， thereby inducing the target gene transcription. The function of ERα is modulated by many factors， including the combination of ligand， the response element on DNA， recruitment of co-regulators and cell environment. Breast cancer and endometrial cancer have been previously reported as the main ERα-related tumors， while recent studies have demonstrated that cardiovascular disease， osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease are also strongly associated with ERα. Furthermore， the biological effects of estrogen are closely related to the occurrence， transform and prognosis of many diseases. This review will report several co-regulators involved in ERα-mediated transactivation， ERα-related diseases and the influence of environmental pollutants on ERα action.
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