Expression of estrogen receptor α in the mouse cerebral cortex

• Although ERα protein levels are stable up to 18 months, ERα mRNA levels decline.
• ERα mRNA levels cannot be used to predict ERα protein levels in the cerebral cortex.
• PR gene expression is sustained in middle aged and older female mice.
• PR mRNA levels cannot be used to predict PR protein levels in the cerebral cortex.

Although estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and 17β-estradiol play critical roles in protecting the cerebral cortex from ischemia-induced damage, there has been some controversy about the expression of ERα in this region of the brain. We have examined ERα mRNA and protein levels in the cerebral cortices of female mice at postnatal days 5 and 17 and at 4, 13, and 18 months of age. We found that although ERα transcript levels declined from postnatal day 5 through 18 months of age, ERα protein levels remained stable. Importantly, expression of the E2-regulated progesterone receptor gene was sustained in younger and in older females suggesting that age-related changes in estrogen responsiveness in the cerebral cortex are not due to the absence of ERα protein.