Estrogenic control of thermoregulation in ERαKO and ERβKO mice

ObjectiveEstrogen is the most effective treatment for preventing the vasomotor symptoms in women. The ability of estrogen to control tail skin temperature (TST) in rats is used as an animal model for the studies of estrogens on menopausal hot flushes. Today, we know that estrogen can mediate its actions via the interaction with two different estrogen receptors: ERα and ERβ. To elucidate the function of each estrogen receptor subtype control of thermoregulation, we developed an animal model demonstrating estrogen control of TST in mice.Methods and resultsWe determined that estrogen depletion by ovariectomy (OVX) of mice causes an elevation of basal tail skin temperature. Administration of estradiol cypionate suppressed this increase in TST in a dose dependent manner. Estrogen depletion by OVX in either ERα-knockout (ERαKO) or ERβ-knockout (ERβKO) mice resulted in an increase in TST that could be suppressed by estrogen treatment.ConclusionWe show that mice serve as a suitable animal model for estrogen-controlled thermoregulation and that the expression of either ERα or ERβ alone in mice is sufficient to maintain control TST by estrogen.