The role of estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) in malignant diseases--a new potential target for antiproliferative drugs in prevention and treatment of cancer.
The discovery of ERbeta in the middle of the 1990s represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of estrogen signaling. It has turned out that estrogen action is not mediated by one receptor, ERalpha, but by two balancing factors, ERalpha and ERbeta, which are often antagonistic to one another. Excitingly, ERbeta has been shown to be widespread in the body and to be involved in a multitude of physiological and pathophysiological events. This has led to a strong interest of the pharmaceutical industry to target ERbeta by drugs against various diseases. In this review, focus is on the role of ERbeta in malignant diseases where the anti proliferative activity of ERbeta gives hope of new therapeutic approaches.
Warner
Margaret
M
Center for BioSciences, Department of BioSciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gustafsson
Jan-Ake
JA
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000819:agonists / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007157:Immunologic Surveillance; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta