Inactivation of estrogen receptor α in bone-forming cells induces bone loss in female mice

The role of the estrogen receptor α (ERα) in bone-forming cells is incompletely understood at present. To examine the in vivo effects of ERα in these cells, we generated a mouse strain in which the ERα gene is inactivated in osteoblasts via osteocalcin promoter-regulated cyclic recombinase (Cre) activity (ERα(ΔOB/ΔOB)). This enabled micro-computed tomography- and histomorphometry-based analysis of ERα-mediated effects in bone-forming cells in mice, in which the systemic ERα-mediated effects are intact. In female ERα(ΔOB/ΔOB) mice, trabecular and cortical bone volumes were significantly reduced (31.5 and 11.4%, respectively) at 3.5 mo of age compared with control ERα(fl/fl) animals, and their response to ovariectomy was small compared with that of controls. In contrast with females, no differences could be detected in the bone phenotype of young males, whereas in 6-mo-old ERα(ΔOB/ΔOB) males, trabecular bone volume (Tb.BV) was decreased (27.5%). The ERα inactivation-related effects were compared with those of controls having a similar genetic background. Parental osteocalcin-Cre mice did not show Cre-related changes. Our results suggest that in female mice, Tb.BV and cortical bone volume are critically dependent on the ERα regulation of osteoblasts, whereas in male mice, osteoblastic ERα is not required for the regulation of bone formation during rapid skeletal growth, but it is involved in the maintenance of Tb.BV.