Lack of evidence for estrogen and progesterone receptors in human adipose tissue.

We have previously presented data indicating the absence of estrogen and progesterone receptors from human adipose tissue by the use of specific antibodies (Abbott) as well as specific ligands. In addition, specific estrogen and progesterone cRNA probes did not hybridize to any mRNA species in either abdominal or gluteal/femoral adipose tissue as demonstrated by solution hybridization and Northern blot. In order to demonstrate even extremely small quantities of gene products we have now used the Polymerase chain reaction-technique to study estrogen- and progesterone receptor gene expression. Sequences corresponding to each specific cDNA were demonstrated indicating small amounts of estrogen- and progesterone receptor mRNA not detected by RNA/RNA or RNA/TNA (total nucleic acids) hybridization assays. The estrogen receptor-regulated gene pS2, however, was not induced by estrogens in human adipose tissue in contrast to a significant increase in pS2 mRNA levels after estrogen exposure to the estrogen receptor(+) cell line MCF7. From these results we conclude that estrogen- and progesterone receptors are absent from human adipose tissue and that the extremely low level of transcription of the corresponding genes is not sufficient to allow translation of the message into functional proteins.