title: Conditional expression of constitutively active estrogen receptor α in osteoblasts increases bone mineral density in mice.
abstract: Estrogen plays an important role in maintaining bone density in women. Estrogen receptor (ER) is expressed in osteoblasts and osteoclasts; however, the precise mechanism of ER in bone is not fully understood. In the present study, we generated a conditional transgenic mouse caERα(ColI) that expresses the constitutively active ERα in osteoblasts using collagen type I promoter-driven Cre transgenic mice. The caERα(ColI) mice showed increased bone mineral density (BMD). Osteoblasts prepared from caERα(ColI) mice expressed high levels of osteoprotegerin and decreased levels of IL-6, both of which are known to regulate osteoclast differentiation. These results suggest that ERα regulates osteoprotegerin and IL-6 production in osteoblasts and modulates BMD. The conditional transgenic mouse model is useful for understanding the in vivo function of ERα.
authors: Division of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
authors: Kazuhiro
authors: K
authors: Ikeda
authors: Tohru
authors: T
authors: Tsukui
authors: Kuniko
authors: K
authors: Horie-Inoue
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015519:Bone Density; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D053244:Osteoprotegerin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D015850:Interleukin-6; D053244:Osteoprotegerin; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins