Perturbations in the model of estrogen receptor regulation of gene expression.

Estrogen receptors are key elements in the mechanisms of action of estrogenic hormones. Models of how estrogens and their receptors interact and subsequently modify gene expression should be reevaluated to explain new data currently available. The following review discusses nuclear localization, DNA binding, and protein structural changes of the estrogen receptor induced by estrogen binding. We also discuss how these phenomena relate to the induction of changes in gene expression.