Fiche publication
Date publication
août 2009
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr CHAMBON Pierre
Tous les auteurs :
Lee S, Kang DW, Hudgins-Spivey S, Krust A, Lee EY, Koo Y, Cheon Y, Gye MC, Chambon P, Ko C
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
Estrogen receptor-alpha (Esr1) mediates estrogen action in regulating at all levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Whereas the importance of Esr1 in hypothalamus and pituitary has been demonstrated by loss of fertility in the neuron- and pituitary-specific Esr1 knockout mice, whether Esr1 plays a critical role in the ovary remains to be determined. In the ovary, Esr1 is mainly expressed in the theca/interstitial cells and germinal epithelium and thus is believed to mediate estrogen action in these cells. In this study, we assessed the importance of Esr1 in the ovarian theca cells in regulating female reproduction. The Cre-LoxP approach was used to selectively delete the Esr1 gene in the theca cells, and the reproductive consequence of the deletion was measured. Adolescent theca-specific Esr1 knockout (thEsr1KO) mice (or=4 months) have fewer corpora lutea but more antral follicles than the age-matching wild-type mice. The numbers of 17-hydroxylase-expressing cells are largely increased in the interstitium of the thEsr1KO mouse ovary. Interestingly, whereas basal levels of serum testosterone and FSH were mildly elevated, LH level was either markedly lower or undetectable in the thEsr1KO mice. When superstimulated by exogenous gonadotropins, thEsr1KO mice released significantly fewer oocytes that wild-type littermates and developed multiple hemorrhagic cysts. Taken together, this study demonstrates that theca Esr1 plays a critical role in regulating female reproduction.
Référence
Endocrinology. 2009 Aug;150(8):3855-62
