title: Autoantibodies to estrogen receptors and their involvement in autoimmune diseases and cancer.
abstract: The involvement of estrogens, which influence many physiologic processes, has been shown in the development or progression of several diseases including some cancers, most notably breast cancer, and autoimmune disorders. Estrogenic signal is transferred via estrogen receptors (ER) which have dual localization, predominantly intracellular but also in plasma membrane. The discovery of membrane-associated ER (mER) has greatly expanded our understanding of estrogen action; upon ligand binding, mER rapidly activate different signaling pathways inducing downstream transcription factors. Some target genes of the mER pathway may be activated independently of the intracellular ER. Additionally, intracellular ER action can be modulated by mER-initiated signaling. Most notably, the identification of autoantibodies reacting with ER (ERAB) and their possible pathogenic role in autoimmunity and cancer have opened a new path for the research in the estrogen-related receptor activity. In this review, we briefly recapitulate the localization and function of ER and mostly discuss the possible role of ERAB as novel potential prognostic and/or predictive tools in autoimmunity and cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy; Istituto San Raffaele Sulmona, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortona
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: marina.pierdominici@iss.it.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierdominici
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncoendocrinology, N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Lev
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen
keywords: Autoantibodies; Autoimmunity; Cancer; Estrogen; Estrogen receptors