title: Estrogen receptors' neuroprotective effect against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity.
abstract: Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory brain neurotransmitter that has important functional significance with respect to neurodegenerative conditions. Glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been gradually becoming elucidated recently. Excessive release of glutamate induces an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) levels, thus triggers a cascade of cellular responses, ultimately leading to neuronal cell death. This type of neuronal damage induced by over-excitation has been proposed to be involved in a number of neuropathological conditions, ranging from acute insults to chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Estrogen could be effective in modulating glutamate-induced neurotoxicity and the protective responsivenesses are mostly estrogen receptors (ERs)-dependent. However, the mechanism underlying estrogen's neuroprotective effect is not fully clarified and is complicated by the presence of several distinct ER types. So a deeper research into the neuroprotection of ERs might be informative about the positive effect that estrogen might have on ageing-related cognitive changes. Extensive studies have indicated the neuroprotective effects of ERs against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. The purpose of this review is to elucidate ERs' neuroprotective effects against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity and explore new ways to prevent and cure neurotoxicity-associated neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Shao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D018698:Glutamic Acid