Direct visualization of the human estrogen receptor alpha reveals a role for ligand in the nuclear distribution of the receptor.

ABSTRACT: The human estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) has been tagged at its amino terminus with the S65T variant of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), allowing subcellular trafficking and localization to be observed in living cells by fluorescence microscopy. The tagged receptor, GFP-ER, is functional as a ligand-dependent transcription factor, responds to both agonist and antagonist ligands, and can associate with the nuclear matrix. Its cellular localization was analyzed in four human breast cancer epithelial cell lines, two ER+ (MCF7 and T47D) and two ER- (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435A), under a variety of ligand conditions. In all cell lines, GFP-ER is observed only in the nucleus in the absence of ligand. Upon the addition of agonist or antagonist ligand, a dramatic redistribution of GFP-ER fr

SUBMITTER: Htun H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC25181 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature