Estrogen Signaling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Estrogen Signaling - Essay ExampleEstrogen is one of the important devolve on hormones. It has definite physiological roles, the most important of which are sexual and reproductive functions. Other biological roles include involvement in various functions attributing to the cardiovascular, immune, central anxious system and musculoskeletal systems (Gustafsson, 2003 cited in Heldring, 2007 906). The body produces many estrogen types, the most potent of which is 12- beta estradiol or E2. E2, along with its 2 metabolites estriol and oestrone exerts various biophysiological effects in the body (Heldring, 2007). These effects are mediated through binding of the molecules of estrogen to specific estrogen receptors. Currently, 2 specific estrogen receptors have been identified and they are ER-alpha and ER-beta. These receptors belong to class-1 nuclear receptors (Petterson and Gustafsson, 2001 cited in Heldring, 2007 907). Binding of the ligands to these receptors induces certain confor mation changes in the receptor which in turn leads to a serial of changes in the receptors and ultimately ends in the preinitiation complex. The changes which occur in the receptors are migration of ER from cytosol to nucleus, dimerisation of the receptor molecules, binding and interactions between dimerised receptor protein and specific sequences of DNA, recruitment of various coregulator proteins interested with the biological action and also recruitment of various transcription factors (Paech, Webb, Kuiper, et al,1997 cited in Heldring, 2007 908).