Estrogen receptor beta stimulates Egr-1 transcription via MEK1/Erk/Elk-1 cascade in C6 glioma cells

Abstract

The Egr-1 is an immediate early response gene encoding a transcription factor that functions in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Estrogen has diverse physiological effects, including cellular proliferation and neuroprotection against brain injury. There are two types of estrogen receptors (ERs), ER alpha and ER beta. ER alpha-induced Egr-1 expression has been extensively studied; however, the role of ER beta is yet not known. In the present study, we investigated whether or not ER beta induces Egr-1 expression in C6 rat glioma cells, which express ER beta but not ER alpha. Our results show that ER beta promoted up-regulation of Egr-1 expression via a non-genomic mechanism involving the Raf/MEK1/Erk/Elk-1 signaling cascade. [BMB reports 2011; 44(7): 452-457]