Cross-Talk in the Female Rat Mammary Gland: Influence of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor on Estrogen Receptor Signaling.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cross-talk between the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and the estrogen receptor (ER) plays a major role in signaling processes in female reproductive organs.

Objectives

We investigated the influence of the AHR ligand 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) on ER-mediated signaling in mammary gland tissue of ovariectomized (ovx) rats.

Methods

After 14 days of hormonal decline, ovx rats were treated for 3 days with 4 μg/kg 17β-estradiol (E2), 15 mg/kg 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN), 15 mg/kg 3-MC, or a combination of these compounds (E2 + 3-MC, 8-PN + 3-MC). Whole-mount preparations of the mammary gland were used to count terminal end buds (TEBs). Protein expression studies (immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence), a cDNA microarray, pathway analyses, and quantitative real

SUBMITTER: Helle J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4858405 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature