Fig. 6. Hypothetical model of the association of ERα with Src and p85 triggered by oestradiol in MCF-7 cells. In the absence of hormone ERα does not interact with p85 or Src (1). Oestradiol triggers immediate association of the three proteins (3). Pull-down experiments support the assembly of the ternary complex. They also show that unstable binary complexes (2) are formed. They might represent a transition towards the more stable ternary complex.