Ontogeny and molecular characterization of estrogen receptors in the hippocampus

The actions of estrogen are thought to be exerted via the estrogen receptor (ER), of which there are two isoforms, a and β. ERα and ERβ are intracellular receptors that belong to a large nuclear receptor superfamily of proteins. Estrogen receptors function directly as ligand-dependent transcription factors that regulate the synthesis of specific RNAs and proteins. The estrogen receptors are similar to most other steroid hormone receptors in that they exhibit a variable N-terminal region, a short and well-conserved cysteinerich central DNA binding domain, and a relatively well-conserved ligand binding carboxyl-terminal half.¹ The carboxyl terminal domain is both structurally and functionally complex.