Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 May;86(5):2258-62.
doi: 10.1210/jcem.86.5.7447.

Expression and cellular localization of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in the human fetus

J Takeyama  1 , T Suzuki, S Inoue, C Kaneko, H Nagura, N Harada, H Sasano
Affiliations

Expression and cellular localization of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in the human fetus

J Takeyama et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 May.

Abstract

Estrogens exert various biological effects by acting through their native receptors, two of which have been identified to date: estrogen receptors alpha (ERalpha) and beta (ERbeta). In this study we examined the expression and cellular localization of ERalpha and ERbeta in various human fetal tissues by semiquantitative RT-PCR (13 and 20 gestational weeks) and immunohistochemistry (13, 20, and 38 gestational weeks), respectively, to study the possible effects of estrogens on human fetal tissues during development. Relatively high levels of ERbeta expression were detected in various human fetal tissues, whereas those tissues expressing ERbeta had markedly lower levels of ERalpha expression. ERbeta messenger ribonucleic acid expression was especially high in the adrenal gland. ERbeta-immunoreactive protein was localized to the definitive zone, but not in the fetal zone, of the adrenal cortex. Although low levels of ERbeta messenger ribonucleic acid were present in the brain, heart, lung, and kidney, ERbeta immunoreactivity was not detected in these tissues. These results suggest that the effects of estrogens in these tissues are predominantly mediated through ERbeta. ERbeta immunoreactivity was detected in Sertoli cells and spermatogonia in the male reproductive tract and in germ cells in the fetal testis and epididymis. In the female reproductive tract, both ERalpha and ERbeta were immunopositive in epithelium of the oviduct. The results of the present study have demonstrated the possible sites for estrogenic action in the human fetus and suggest that the effects of estrogen via ERbeta may play important roles in human fetal development, especially in the definitive zone of the adrenal cortex, and in the reproductive tissues of the developing fetus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources