Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Visualization of Estrogen Receptors in Colons of Mice with TNBS-Induced Crohn's Disease using Immunofluorescence
Published on: March 12, 2020
Women, autoimmunity, and cancer: a dangerous liaison between estrogen and activation-induced deaminase?
Robert W Maul1, Patricia J Gearhart
1Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Abstract:
Why women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases is not completely clear, but new data suggest that the hormone estrogen may play an important role. A new study now shows that estrogen activates the expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID), a protein that drives antibody diversification by deaminating cytosine in DNA to uracil. If estrogen increases the level of AID, increased mutations could transform benign antibodies into anti-self pariahs. AID might also contribute to cancer--particularly in breast tissue, which is highly responsive to estrogen--by introducing mutations and strand breaks into the genome.
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