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. 2001 Jul;85(7):877–882. doi: 10.1136/bjo.85.7.877

Presence of oestrogen receptor type β in human retina

C Munaut 1, V Lambert 1, A Noel 1, F Frankenne 1, M Deprez 1, J Foidart 1, J Rakic 1
PMCID: PMC1724050  PMID: 11423466

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS—Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of two oestrogen receptor subtypes α (ORα) and β (ORβ) with significant differences of expression among organs. Since important pathologies of human eye could be linked to hormonal status, the expression of ORβ in ocular posterior segment was sought.
METHODS—Immunohistochemical localisation of ORβ and ORα protein and detection of OR mRNAs by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed in macular and extramacular regions of the retina and in the choroid on male and female donors eyes.
RESULTS—ORβ protein was localised in the ganglion cell layer and in the choroid. At the transcriptional level, mRNA for ORβ and for ORα were both present. Local differences in the expression level were observed, however, suggesting the possibility of variation in the ratio of ORα v ORβ.
CONCLUSIONS—The coexistence of two oestrogen receptor subtypes in the human ocular posterior segment raises acute questions about their potential physiological role, but offers a perspective for preferential targeting of a specific receptor subtype.



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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Immunolocalisation of ORα (A, D, G) and ORβ (B, E, H) and negative controls (C, F, I) on paraffin sections of ocular posterior segment at low magnification (×100, A, B, C) or higher magnification (×400) focused either on ganglion cell layer (D, E, F), on the choroid-RPE complex (G, H, I), or selectively on the RPE (J). Note the staining of ORα (arrows) in all nuclear layers (A) and the concentration of ORβ (arrows) in ganglion cell layer (E) and in choroidal structures (H). Ch = choroid; ONL = outer nuclear layer; INL = inner nuclear layer; GCL = ganglion cell layer.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Human retina contained a band of oestrogen receptor α and β (relative molecular mass of 67 kDa). Testis was used as a positive control, and the HT1080 cell line was negative.

Figure 3  .

Figure 3  

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Representative example of ORα and ORβ mRNA expression in the eye of various sex donors (age is given in years with sex symbol). Total RNA (approximately 10 ng) from the macular region (in) or from the peripheral retina (out) were submitted to RT-PCR as described in Materials and methods. The 28S rRNA (lower panel) is used to assess the total amount of RNA loaded.

Figure 4  .

Figure 4  

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ORα and ORβ mRNA expression in human retinas (R) and choroidal (Ch) regions of a representative couple of male and female donors. RT-PCR was performed as described in Materials and methods. The 28S rRNA is used to assess the total amount of RNA loaded.

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