[Estrogen receptor alpha and colocalization of Bcl-2 in hippocampus of Alzheimer's disease].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the possible mechanism by which estrogen regulates apoptosis through the estrogen receptor.


METHODS
By means of fluorescence immunocytochemistry, the present study investigated the distribution of Bcl-2 and the colocolization of Bcl-2 and ERalpha immunoreactivity in the hippocampus of 10 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and 10 aged controls.


RESULTS
Bcl-2 immunoreactivity was widely distributed in neurons, concentrating predominantly on the subfields CA3 and CA4 in the stratum pyramidale of hippocampus both in controls and in AD patients. Bcl-2 staining in the labeled neuron was observed mainly in the cytoplasm and neuritic processes, but a few nuclei were also positive. Bcl-2 labeling was also detected in the astrocytes mainly in AD, but sparsely in controls. Double-labeled fluorescence immunocytochemistry showed that most Bcl-2-immunolabeled neurons also exhibited positive staining for ERalpha.


CONCLUSIONS
Estrogen may function as a regulator of apoptosis to modulate the expression of Bcl-2 in neurons and astrocytes in hippocampus of AD through ERalpha.
Zeng
Mei
M
Department of Neurobiology, Life Science School, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
Lu
Ya-ping
YP
Xu
Hao
H
Zhou
Jiang-ning
JN
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen