Unliganded estrogen receptor alpha regulates vascular cell function and gene expression

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) has generally been thought to be transcriptionally inactive until it binds estrogen. Here we show that unliganded ERa, far from being transcriptionally inert, regulates a large number of genes both in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and in mouse aorta. The genes regulated by unliganded ERa in the aorta (largely composed of smooth muscle cells) differ from those in ECs, and aorta- and EC-regulated promoters show enrichment in binding sites for distinct sets of transcription factors. In vitro, the presence of unliganded ERa decreases the migration and proliferation of ECs, and also increases proliferation of SMCs. Consistent with these effects on individual cells in vitro, mice lacking ERa, in the absence of estrogen, show significantly less SMC proliferation and medial thickening after carotid artery wire injury than ER intact mice. The effects of unliganded ERa on vascular gene expression, cell function in vitro and vascular injury responses in vivo are all reversed by the addition of estrogen. Taken together, these results indicate that unliganded ERa regulates vascular gene expression, vascular cell function, and vascular injury responses, and that the cardiovascular protective effects of estrogen may largely be due to the reversal of these effects of unliganded ERa. These results have important implications for the vascular health of men and post-menopausal women with vascular ERa and low circulating levels of estrogen. This study also raises the possibility that the steroid receptor family could have substantial hormone-independent functions in the vasculature and in other tissues. Eahy 926 stable cell lines carrying a human estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) expression vector (ERa ECs) or a control empty vector (Ctrl ECs) were treated with or without 17-b-estradiol (E2) for 16 hrs. RNA from 3 bioligical replicates per condition was harvested and used to probe Illumina bead arrays.