Estrogen-dependent gene expression

Estrogens mediate their transcriptional effects through interaction with the estrogen receptors, ESR1 (also known as ER alpha) and ESR2 (ER beta). ESR1 and ESR2 share overlapping but distinct functions, with ESR1 playing the primary role in transcriptional activation in most cell types (Hah and Krauss, 2014; Haldosén et al, 2014. The receptors function as ligand-dependent dimers and can activate target genes either through direct binding to an estrogen responsive element (ERE) in the target gene promoter, or indirectly through interaction with another DNA-binding protein such as RUNX1, SP1, AP1 or NF-kappa beta (reviewed in Bai and Gust, 2009; Hah and Krause, 2014). Binding of estrogen receptors to the DNA promotes the assembly of higher order transcriptional complexes containing methyltransferases, histone acetyltransferases and other transcriptional activators, which promote transcription by establishing active chromatin marks and by recruiting general transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. ESR1- and estrogen-dependent recruitment of up to hundreds of coregulators has been demonstrated by varied co-immunoprecipitation and proteomic approaches (Kittler et al, 2013; Mohammed et al, 2013; Foulds et al, 2013; Mohammed et al, 2015; Liu et al, 2014; reviewed in Magnani and Lupien, 2014; Arnal, 2017). In some circumstances, ligand-bound receptors can also promote the assembly of a repression complex at a target gene, and in some cases, heterodimers of ESR1 and ESR2 serve as repressors of ESR1-mediated target gene activation (reviewed in Hah and Kraus, 2014; Arnal et al, 2017). Phosphorylation of the estrogen receptor also modulates its activity, and provides cross-talk between nuclear estrogen-dependent signaling and non-genomic estrogen signaling from the plasma membrane (reviewed in Anbalagan and Rowan, 2015; Halodsèn et al, 2014; Schwartz et al, 2016)

Summary from Reactome (R-HSA-9018519), read 2026-09-23.