Estrogen-binding proteins in the human postmenopausal uterus

Gibbons, William E.; Buttram, Veasy C.; Besch, Paige K.; Smith, Roy G.

doi:10.1016/0002-9378(79)90394-6

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Estrogen is necessary for the regular building up of the lining of the uterus in preparation for implantation, and progesterone for the subsequent shedding of this lining if implantation does not occur. Although the uterus, like most organs, does experience some intrinsic aging changes (Gosden, 1985;Naeye, 19831, inadequate estrogen stimulation in the postmenopausal woman is largely responsible for the marked atrophy of this structure (Gibbons et al, 1979).…”

Section: Menopausal Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menopause: A comparative life history perspective

Pavelka

Fedigan

1991

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

142

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As a life history characteristic of human females, menopause is universal, it occurs halfway through the maximum lifespan of the species, and it consistently occurs a t approximately age 50 in different populations. Menopause is fundamentally distinct from the reproductive senescence that has been described for a very small number of very old individual alloprimates. Menopause is not a recent historical artifact. As a species universal showing little variation in occurrence across contemporary populations, it must be understood in evolutionary terms. Supporters of the "grandmother hypothesis" explain menopause as an adaptive feature in itself. Others see menopause as a byproduct of the increased lifespan of Homo sapiens. Plieotropy theory may help to explain menopause in broader mammalian terms.In recent years menopause has been increasingly examined from clinical, social, and scientific perspectives. Physical anthropologists have a n approach to menopause that is at once unique and diverse, as it incorporates primatological, historical, cross-cultural, and evolutionary views. While many of us are interested in the menopause, it is clear that physical anthropologists do not share a n interpretation with which all agree. It is common to find confident yet contradictory statements in the literature. For example, menopause is described as being a n illness, and a developmental process; as a uniquely human characteristic, and one shared by the alloprimates; as being a recent historical phenomenon, and a distant evolutionary one; as a primary adaptation, and as a secondary or tertiary by-product.In this paper we provide a n overview of menopause and of controversies in the menopause literature in the hope of giving physical anthropologists the common base of knowledge that is essential to informed theory development. Our general approach throughout the paper is structured by a life history perspective. As DeRousseau recently noted (1990:1), "Life history is a n exciting new direction in evolutionary studies. It focuses attention on the processes and events that occur in the lives of individual organisms, and questions their evolutionary significance." In the case of menopause, we will be stressing three characteristics that make it a significant phenomenon in life history studies of the human female: its universality (virtually every woman who survives into her sixth decade will experience menopause); its relative timing in the overall life course (approximately half-way through the maximum life span of the species); and its age-specificity (an approximate age of 50 years has been widely reported for different populations). Four major questions are addressed.First, what is menopause? To answer this question we begin by defining a variety of relevant terms, including premenopause, perimenopause, postmenopause, climacteric, lifespan, and life expectancy, and we address the sex differences in 0 1991 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [Vol. 34, 1991 reproductive senescence in humans and the misnomer of male menopause. Basic fe...

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Section: Menopausal Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menopause: A comparative life history perspective

Pavelka

Fedigan

1991

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

142

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“…Specific high-affinity oestrogen-receptor proteins have been identified in both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of chick oviduct cells (Cox et al, 1971;Harrison & Toft, 1975;Best-Belpomme et al, 1975;Teng & Teng, 1976;Mulvihill & Palmiter, 1977;. However, the accurate quantification of cytoplasmic and nuclear oestrogen-receptor molecules has more recently been complicated by the discovery of oestrogen-receptor heterogeneity ), a problem that is not restricted solely to chick oviduct tissue (Clark et al, 1978;Gibbons et al, 1979). To quantify accurately receptor sites in cell fractions which also contain low-affinity and high-capacity oestrogenbinding macromolecules, we have developed a precise assay which discriminates the two oestrogen receptors from low-affinity oestrogen-binding sites.…”

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confidence: 99%

Correlation of nuclear acceptor sites for oestrogen receptors with gene transcription in vitro

Taylor

Swaneck

Smith

1980

Biochemical Journal

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The interaction of oestrogen receptors with their nuclear acceptor sites was studied to ascertain whether these acceptor sites are involved in the regulation of ovalbumin-gene expression in the chick oviduct. As previously described, two distinct oestrogen-receptor species exist, and both are translocated into the nucleus after oestrogen administration in vivo [Smith, Clarke, Zalta & Taylor (1979) J. Steroid Biochem.10, 31-35]. In the present investigation we observed that the tubular-gland-cell concentrations of cytoplasmic receptors (800-900/cell) do not vary with prolonged withdrawal, nor do the relative ratios of the two receptor types change; however, the nuclear accumulation and retention of these receptors after secondary oestrogen administration are attenuated in a time-dependent fashion. Chicks were withdrawn from oestrogen for 24-84h. Some animals were then restimulated with oestrogen and killed after 4h, when oviduct nuclei were isolated. These nuclei were assayed for nuclear receptor concentrations and for their capacity to synthesize ovalbumin mRNA in vitro. Although an equal number of cytoplasmic receptors appeared to be translocated, oestrogen-receptor occupancy within the nucleus was not equal, but was inversely proportional to the preceding length of withdrawal. This decrease in nuclear acceptor sites was accompanied by a similar decrease in the capacity of these same nuclei to transcribe ovalbumin mRNA in vitro. A statistical evaluation of nuclear oestrogen-receptor concentrations and ovalbumin-mRNA synthesis in vitro was made. Correlation analysis revealed a Pearson coefficient r=0.87 (P<0.001, n=17), indicating that a high degree of correlation exists between these two parameters. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that nuclear oestrogen-receptor-acceptor complexes may correspond to initiation sites for RNA polymerase II transcription of an oestrogen-regulated gene.

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“…Moreover, the chick oviduct estrogen receptors behave in sucrose gradients with characteristic profiles, translocate stoichiometrically from cytosol to nuclei in vivo, and appear to mediate a biological estrogenic response (9,10). Preliminary evidence in the human uterus suggests that each of these two receptors may have independent physiologic functions involved in the regulation ofmenstrual cyclicity (6). For convenience, we refer to the two estrogen receptors as X and Y. the former representing the species with the higher affinity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Steroid hormone-receptor complexes are believed to undergo an energy-dependent activation (1) that results in a conformational change and translocation into the nucleus, where regulatory interactions with the genome occur (1)(2)(3)(4). In the past few years, this well-accepted hypothesis has become complicated by the discovery of steroid receptor heterogeneity (5,6) and the demonstration of multiple steroid binding proteins within target tissues (7,8). The role of these cytoplasmic hormone binding proteins is poorly understood, and the elucidation of their functions will be an important step in the understanding of steroid hormone action.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…[2,4,6,7-3H]Estradiol (90-100 Ci/mmol; 1 Ci = 3.7 X 101s becquerels), [1,2,6,7-3H]progesterone (89 Ci/ mmol), and [1,2,4,5,6,7-3H]5a-dihydrotestosterone (110 Ci/ mmol) were purchased from Amersham, and their purity was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography on silica gel plates. Unlabeled DES, estradiol, cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, and 5a-dihydrotestosterone were from Sigma.…”

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Identification of a novel sex steroid binding protein.

Taylor¹,

Smith²

1982

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We describe a cytoplasmic steroid binding protein in the chick oviduct which has intriguing characteristics. This protein binds [3H]estradiol with high affinity (Kd = 30 x 10-9 M) and limited capacity (300 fmol/mg ofcytosol protein). It sediments at 8 S in low-salt sucrose density gradients and at 4 S in high-salt gradients. Unlike the estrogen receptor, however, this protein also binds progesterone, R5020, testosterone, and 5a-dihydrotestosterone with similar affinities and in a competitive manner. Moreover, it is not translocated to the nucleus by the in vivo administration of these sex steroids. The protein is only present in estrogen-responsive tissue, and like the sex steroid receptors, its synthesis appears to be regulated by estrogen.Current molecular models of steroid hormone action suggest that these hormones initiate their regulatory effects by interacting with stereospecific receptor proteins localized in the cytosol oftarget tissues. Steroid hormone-receptor complexes are believed to undergo an energy-dependent activation (1) that results in a conformational change and translocation into the nucleus, where regulatory interactions with the genome occur (1-4). In the past few years, this well-accepted hypothesis has become complicated by the discovery of steroid receptor heterogeneity (5, 6) and the demonstration of multiple steroid binding proteins within target tissues (7,8). The role of these cytoplasmic hormone binding proteins is poorly understood, and the elucidation of their functions will be an important step in the understanding of steroid hormone action.In addition to the classical estrogen receptor, Clark et al. (7) MATERIALS AND METHODS Animals. Two-day-old White Leghorn pullets were purchased from Texas Animal Specialties (Humble, TX), provided with food and water ad lib, and raised in a constant temperature environment with a 13/11-hr light/dark schedule. At the chick age of 1 wk, estrogen stimulation was initiated by subcutaneous insertion of two silicone implants containing 25 mg of diethylstilbestrol (DES) each. Fourteen days after DES-implant insertion, the animals were considered fully stimulated. Periods of estrogen withdrawal, as indicated in the text, were begun after day 14 by removal ofthe DES implants through cutaneous incisions. In some experiments, chicks were injected subcutaneously 30 min before sacrifice with 2 mg each of estradiol, progesterone, and 5a-dihydrotestosterone in sesame oil. All animals were killed by decapitation; then the oviduct and spleen tissues were rapidly excised and processed immediately.Hormones. [2,4,6,7-3H]Estradiol (90-100 Ci/mmol; 1 Ci = 3.7 X 101s becquerels), [1,2,6,7-3H]progesterone (89 Ci/ mmol), and [1,2,4,5,6,7-3H]5a-dihydrotestosterone (110 Ci/ mmol) were purchased from Amersham, and their purity was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography on silica gel plates. Unlabeled DES, estradiol, cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, and 5a-dihydrotestosterone were from Sigma. Tamoxifen was a gift from Stuart Pharmaceutical (Wilmington, DE)...

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Estrogen-binding proteins in the human postmenopausal uterus

Cited by 16 publications

References 9 publications

Menopause: A comparative life history perspective

Menopause: A comparative life history perspective

Correlation of nuclear acceptor sites for oestrogen receptors with gene transcription in vitro

Identification of a novel sex steroid binding protein.

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