雌激素主要通過(guò)雌激素受體發(fā)揮其生物學(xué)功能。雌激素受體屬于轉(zhuǎn)錄因子核受體家族,。ER-α36是最近發(fā)現(xiàn)的一個(gè)雌激素受體α的變異體,，它在雌性生殖器官的表達(dá)和作用還不清楚。
本研究采用激光共聚焦顯微術(shù),、蛋白免疫印記和抗體注射等方法分別研究了ER-α36的在小鼠卵巢發(fā)育及卵母細(xì)胞減數(shù)分裂過(guò)程中的表達(dá),、亞細(xì)胞定位，以及它在小鼠卵母細(xì)胞減數(shù)分裂過(guò)程中的可能作用,。ER-α36表達(dá)在各發(fā)育階段的卵泡卵母細(xì)胞核內(nèi),，直到卵母細(xì)胞恢復(fù)減數(shù)分裂為止（GVBD）。它在顆粒細(xì)胞上有少量表達(dá),，但在顆粒細(xì)胞向黃體細(xì)胞轉(zhuǎn)化時(shí),，它的表達(dá)量上升，且主要分布于黃體細(xì)胞的胞質(zhì),，細(xì)胞核上有很少或沒(méi)有表達(dá),。此外，ER-α36還表達(dá)在卵泡膜細(xì)胞（theca cells）上,。與對(duì)照組相比,，用ER-α36抗體注射到卵母細(xì)胞生發(fā)泡中來(lái)封閉ER-α36的功能，可使第一極體提前排出,。這些結(jié)果表明ER-α36可能在小鼠卵巢卵泡發(fā)生和卵母細(xì)胞減數(shù)分裂中起重要的作用,。本研究發(fā)表在《組織化學(xué)和細(xì)胞生物學(xué)》（HISTOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY）雜志上。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
HISTOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY,，doi: 10.1007/s00418-008-0526-4,，Bao-Zeng Xu，Qing-Yuan Sun
Changes in estrogen receptor-α variant (ER-α36) expression during mouse ovary development and oocyte meiotic maturation
Bao-Zeng Xu1, 2, Sheng-Li Lin1, 2, Mo Li1, 2, Jia-Qiao Zhu1, 2, Sen Li1, 2, Ying-Chun Ouyang1, Da-Yuan Chen1 and Qing-Yuan Sun1
(1) State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang, 100101 Beijing, China
(2) Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Abstract The biological effects of estrogens are largely mediated through estrogen receptors (ERs), which belong to the nuclear receptor gene family of transcription factors. ER-α36 has been recently identified as a new variant of ERα, but its expression and roles in female reproduction system remain unknown. Immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy were employed to observe ER-α36 distribution in mouse ovary during postnatal development and in oocyte during meiotic maturation. ER-α36 was consistently present in the nuclei of oocytes regardless of follicular growth stage and mouse age until germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Its immunosignal was smeared in granulosa cells. However, the ER-α36 signal is up-regulated and found in cytoplasm with little or no nuclear staining during corpus luteum development. ER-α36 was also found in theca cells. We showed by Western blot that ER-α36 was expressed in mouse oocytes at various maturation stages. When the function of nuclear ER-α36 was blocked by microinjecting anti-ER-α36 specific antibody into the germinal vesicle (GV) of mouse oocytes, the first polar body emission occurred earlier in a higher proportion of oocytes compared to the control. These results suggest that ER-α36 may play critical roles in mouse ovarian folliculogenesis and oocyte development.
