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Role of oestrogen receptors α and β in immune organ development and in oestrogen‐mediated effects on thymus
Author(s) -
Erlandsson Malin C.,
Ohlsson Claes,
Gustafsson JanÅke,
Carlsten Hans
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.2001.01212.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , thymic involution , immune system , biology , thymocyte , spleen , cd8 , involution (esoterism) , receptor , atrophy , estrogen receptor alpha , estrogen receptor , t cell , immunology , cancer , consciousness , neuroscience , breast cancer
Summary Oestrogens affect the development and regulation of the immune system. To determine the role of oestrogen receptors α (ER‐α) and β (ER‐β) on the development of the immune system, male ER‐α (ERKO) and ER‐β (BERKO) mice, as well as αβ‐double knockout (DERKO) mice, were studied. Deletion of ER‐α led to hypoplasia of both thymus and spleen. Interestingly, a higher frequency of immature double CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes was found in ER‐α − mice compared with ER‐α + mice. Female oophorectomized BERKO mice given oestradiol (E2) displayed a similar degree of thymic atrophy compared with the wild‐type strain but showed only limited involution of thymus cortex and no alteration of thymic CD4/CD8 phenotype expression. Our data demonstrate that expression of ER‐α, but not ER‐β, is mandatory in males for development of full‐size thymus and spleen, whereas expression of ER‐β is required for E2‐mediated thymic cortex atrophy and thymocyte phenotype shift in females. A potential background for the above findings may be down‐regulated activity in the growth hormone/insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (GH/IGF‐1) axis in males lacking ER‐α and suppressed sensitivity of females lacking ER‐β to E2‐mediated suppression of IGF‐1.