Estrogen receptor mRNA splice variants in pre- and postmenopausal human endometrium and endometrial carcinoma

Breast cancer tissue has been shown to contain alternatively spliced estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA variants which may result in alternate ER proteins. These ER variants lack specific functional domains and may alter breast cancer cells responses to both estrogen and antiestrogens. Specifically, ER variants might play a role in Tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer patients, as well as the development of endometrial carcinoma, an estrogen-dependent tumor, in patients taking this medication. We investigated the presence of ER variants in normal human endometrium and endometrial carcinoma. Ribonuclease protection assays (RPA) demonstrated ER mRNA variants in the DNA and hormone-binding domains. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was used to examine the ER complementary DNA (cDNA) from 25 patients, and generated two major products in both the exon 2 to 5 and 4 to 8 regions. Southern blot analysis of PCR products revealed exon 4 and 7 deletions in all 25 endometria without any qualitative differences in variant expression among premenopausal, postmenopausal, and adenocarcinoma samples. Cloning and sequencing of cDNA variants definitively identified exact deletions of either exon 4 or exon 7. These results demonstrate significant levels of ER mRNA splice variants as well as full-length ER mRNA in normal and neoplastic endometria.