Novel actions of estrogen receptor-β on anxiety-related behaviors

Estrogens are reported to have both anxiogenic and anxiolytic properties. This dichotomous neurobiological response to estrogens may be mediated by the existence of two distinct estrogen receptor (ER) systems, ERα and ERβ. In brain, ERα plays a critical role in regulating reproductive neuroendocrine function, whereas ERβ may be more important in regulating nonreproductive functions. To determine whether estrogen's anxiolytic actions could be mediated by ERβ, we examined anxiety-related behaviors after treatment with ER subtype-selective agonists. Ovariectomized female rats, divided into four treatment groups, were injected with the selective ERβ agonist diarylpropionitrile (DPN), the ERα-selective agonist propyl-pyrazole-triol (PPT), 17β-estradiol, or vehicle daily for 4d. After injections, behavior was monitored in the elevated plus maze or open field. Rats treated with DPN showed significantly decreased anxiety-related behaviors in both behavioral paradigms. In the elevated plus maze, DPN significantly increased the number of open arm entries and time spent on the open arms of the maze. Furthermore, DPN significantly reduced, whereas PPT increased, anxiogenic behaviors such as the number of fecal boli and time spent grooming. In the open field, DPN-treated females made more rears, interacted more with a novel object, and spent more time in the middle of the open field than did control or PPT-treated rats. To confirm that DPN's anxiolytic actions are ER mediated, the nonselective ER antagonist tamoxifen was administered alone or in combination with DPN. Tamoxifen blocked the previously identified anxiolytic actions of DPN. Taken together, these findings suggest that the anxiolytic properties of estrogens are ERβ mediated.