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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

An In Vivo Estrogen Deficiency Mouse Model for Screening Exogenous Estrogen Treatments of Cardiovascular Dysfunction After Menopause
Published on: August 13, 2019
Hepatic estrogen receptor α improves hepatosteatosis through upregulation of small heterodimer partner
Xiaolin Wang1, Yan Lu1, E Wang1
1Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
Background & Aims:
Estrogen participates in the control of energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism. However the role of hepatic estrogen receptor α (ERα) in triglyceride (TG) homeostasis remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the roles of estrogen and ERα in the regulation of hepatic TG metabolism.
Methods:
Liver TG metabolism was analyzed in female mice with ovariectomy or tamoxifen treatment, and in hepatic ERα knockdown or overexpression. Phenotypes and expression of genes were compared in male and female mice with farnesoid X receptor deficiency. The mechanism of ERα in the regulation of small heterodimer partner (SHP) expression was further investigated.
Results:
Female mice receiving ovariectomy or tamoxifen treatment exhibited hepatic TG accumulation. Ablation of ERα using adenoviral shRNA markedly increased hepatic TG accumulation, while overexpression of ERα ameliorated hepatosteatosis in obese mice. At the molecular level, estrogen upregulated hepatic SHP expression through binding to its proximal promoter. In addition, the roles of estrogen were largely blunted in mice with SHP deficiency.
Conclusion:
These findings reveal a novel role of estrogen in improving hepatosteatosis through upregulation of SHP expression.
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