Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Vitam Horm. 2021;116:313-326. doi: 10.1016/bs.vh.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Mar 9.
The female sex hormone estradiol (E2, 17β-estradiol) has important functions in the developing brain. In addition to regulating sexual differentiation of the brain, E2 participates in the development of brain areas involved in functions unrelated to reproduction, such as cognition. E2 signals mainly thorough two estrogen receptors; estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ). While ERα has distinct functions for sexual imprinting of the developing brain, ERβ is considered to participate in the development of brain areas related to cognitive function. In this chapter we will focus on ERβ's role during neural development. We will discuss the contributions of sex chromosomal and sex hormonal effects in this process and place it in relation to recent data on ERβ obtained from stem cell models. Finally, we will discuss the lessons learned from mouse and stem cell models in understanding ERβ's role in neural development and how new stem cell models, by addressing the human relevance, may help to advance our progress in this field.
女性性激素雌二醇（E2，17β-雌二醇）在大脑发育中具有重要功能。除了调节大脑的性分化外，E2 还参与与生殖无关的大脑区域的发育，例如认知。E2 信号主要通过两种雌激素受体——雌激素受体α（ERα）和β（ERβ）传递。虽然 ERα 在发育中大脑的性印记方面具有独特的功能，但 ERβ 被认为参与了与认知功能相关的大脑区域的发育。在本章中，我们将重点介绍 ERβ 在神经发育过程中的作用。我们将讨论性染色体和性激素效应对这一过程的影响，并将其与最近从干细胞模型中获得的 ERβ 相关数据联系起来。最后，我们将讨论从小鼠和干细胞模型中获得的关于 ERβ 在神经发育中的作用的经验教训，以及新的干细胞模型如何通过解决人类相关性问题来帮助我们在这一领域取得进展。
