Endocrinology Vol. 142, No. 3 969-973
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society
Minireview: Neuroprotective Effects of EstrogenNew Insights into Mechanisms of Action
Phyllis M. Wise,
Dena B. Dubal,
Melinda E. Wilson,
Shane W. Rau and
Martina Böttner
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of
Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Phyllis M. Wise, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536. E-mail:
pmwise1{at}pop.uky.edu
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Abstract
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An accumulating body of evidence clearly establishes that estradiol is
a potent neuroprotective and neurotrophic factor in the adult: it
influences memory and cognition, decreases the risk and delays the
onset of neurological diseases such as Alzheimers disease, and
attenuates the extent of cell death that results from brain injuries
such as cerebrovascular stroke and neurotrauma. Thus, estradiol appears
to act at two levels: 1) it decreases the risk of disease or injury;
and/or 2) it decreases the extent of injury incurred by suppressing the
neurotoxic stimulus itself or increasing the resilience of the brain to
a given injury. During the past century, the average life span of women
has increased dramatically, whereas the time of the menopause has
remained essentially constant. Thus, more women will live a larger
fraction of their lives in a postmenopausal, hypoestrogenic state than
ever before. Clearly, it is critical for us understand the
circumstances under which estradiol exerts protective actions and the
cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie these novel,
nonreproductive actions.
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Introduction
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DURING the past decade, our appreciation
that estradiol is a potent protective factor in many physiological
systems has increased remarkably. The intense interest in understanding
the circumstances under which estradiol protects and the mechanisms of
it protective actions results from three converging areas of
understanding. First, we have begun to appreciate that, in addition to
its well-recognized effects on the reproductive axis and traditional
reproductive target organs, estradiol is a pleiotropic hormone that
influences numerous nonreproductive functions such as bone and mineral
metabolism, cardiac and vascular function, memory, cognition and mood,
and the incidence and progression of age-related diseases (reviewed in
Refs. 1, 2, 3). Second, the discovery of three types of
estrogen receptors (ER
, ER
, and membrane ER) (4, 5)
has led us to reevaluate potentially new targets and diverse mechanisms
of estradiol action that have not been considered previously.
Researchers have launched aggressive investigations into the specific
biological actions of each receptor in anticipation that we will be
able to selectively induce the protective actions of estrogens. Third,
during the past century, the average life span of women has increased
dramatically from 50 yr to over 80 yr; whereas the age of menopause has
remained essentially fixed at 51 yr. Hence, a greater proportion and a
greater total number of women will spend over 30 yr of their lives in
the hypoestrogenic postmenopausal state. Because estradiol influences
multiple physiological systems, the cessation of menstrual cyclicity
and resulting hypoestrogenicity broadly impacts womens health.
Clearly, understanding the circumstances under which estradiol exerts
protective actions and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that
underlie these novel, nonreproductive actions will prove crucial to
preventing the deleterious consequences of prolonged hypoestrogenicity
and to improving womens health.
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Neuroprotective Actions of Estradiol in the Adult
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We have long appreciated that estradiol is a potent neurotrophic
and neuroprotective factor during embryonic and neonatal development
(reviewed in Refs. 6, 7, 8). Our appreciation that estradiol
exerts important protective actions on the adult brain is more recent
and has grown through the results of studies in both humans and animal
models. Clinical studies establish that estradiol influences aspects of
memory, cognition, and mood in healthy young and postmenopausal women.
In addition, it appears to delay the onset of and slow the decline in
cognitive function associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as
Alzheimers or Parkinsons disease, and may attenuate the extent of
acute injury associated with stroke and brain trauma (reviewed in Refs.
9, 10). Finally, recent data suggest that estradiol may
protect against neurotoxic HIV proteins, gp120 and Tat (11, 12). It is more controversial as to whether estrogen replacement
therapy can ameliorate memory and cognitive function after the disease
or injury process has been initiated (13, 14, 15).
The vast majority of studies that investigate the potential
neuroprotective actions of estrogen have been performed using
experimental animal models and in vitro methodologies. The
in vivo studies allow basic scientists to use experimental
paradigms that mimic clinical forms of brain trauma and to create
different controlled hormonal environments to follow the evolution of
injury and the mechanisms that explain the differential extent and rate
of cell death. The power of in vitro methods (explant
cultures, primary dispersed cells, or neuronal cell lines) lies in the
fact that investigators can take advantage of more simple systems where
direct and indirect actions of estradiol can be deciphered. These basic
science studies complement clinical results and support the conclusion
that estradiol exerts protective actions during adulthood. They reveal
the breadth of mechanisms that estrogens use and uncover the
interactive and complex nature of the cellular and molecular mechanisms
that are involved.
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Evidence that Estradiol Protects the Brain against Injury
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Interestingly, although it has been known that estradiol may
influence memory and cognition and protect against neurodegenerative
diseases, its role in acute injury has only recently been a focus of
study. Until a decade ago, most studies that investigated the etiology,
evolution, and pathophysiological mechanisms of acute injury used males
and assumed that conclusions drawn from studies would apply to females.
The results of more recent studies clearly reveal that sex, and
estradiol, in particular, are critical considerations in the outcome of
brain injury. Several lines of evidence suggest that females are less
vulnerable to acute insults associated with cerebral ischemia (for
reviews see Refs. 9, 16, 17), neurotrauma (for review see
Ref. 10), hypoxia (18) and drug-induced
toxicity (19). First, there are striking sex differences
in the incidence, the pathophysiology and the outcome of neurological
injury. Premenopausal women suffer from cerebrovascular stroke less
frequently than men (20), but this sex-related difference
disappears in older postmenopausal women compared with age-matched men
(21). Likewise, young female rodents consistently sustain
less neural cell death and smaller infarcts, experience fewer
behavioral signs of injury, and survive for a longer period of time
after ischemia, hypoxia, or traumatic brain injury
(22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27) (reviewed in Ref. 10).
Second, administration of estradiol or estrogenic compounds
protects against stroke-like (reviewed in Refs. (9, 16, 17) or traumatic brain injury (28); treatment
diminishes the extent of injury, and, in some studies, decreases
mortality and behavioral dysfunction. Researchers have used several
different treatment protocols. Hormone has been administered at
physiological and pharmacological levels before, simultaneously with,
or after brain injury. In general, it appears that pharmacological
doses of estradiol or estrogen-like compounds protect even when given
up to 3 h following the onset of injury (29); whereas
lower physiological concentrations of estradiol must be administered
before the injury to exert protective actions. We have found that
administration of low physiological levels of 17
-estradiol for 1
week before permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery leads to
a dramatic decrease in the extent of the infarct (30)
(Fig. 1
). Although the varying estrogen
treatment protocols collectively decrease neural injury, the mechanisms
by which they achieve neuroprotection appear to be diverse and complex
(see below).

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Figure 1. Infarct volume in ovariectomized and
ovariectomized estradiol-treated rats. Estradiol pretreatment
significantly reduced the total and cortical infarcts produced by
permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Low and high physiological
levels of estradiol pretreatment significantly reduced overall and
cortical infarct size, as compared with oil-pretreated controls.
Estradiol did not significantly reduce striatal injury. Values
represent mean ± SE. Modified from Ref.
30 .
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Third, estradiol protects against cell death in numerous in
vitro models of brain injury. In parallel with in vivo
studies, investigators have used a wide range of concentrations of
estradiol
(10-510-12
M), diverse neurotoxic stimuli (glucose
deprivation, hypoxia, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, and physical
injury), and various culturing methods (primary neuronal cells,
tumor-derived neuronal cell lines, mixed neuron/astrocyte cultures, and
organotypic explant cultures) (reviewed in Ref. 9). The
in vitro approach has helped us immensely to decipher the
underlying molecular mechanisms by which estradiol attenuates the
extent of injury. Explant cultures allow us to eliminate the indirect
effects of estradiol on nonneural systems, while maintaining local
synaptic connections and interactions with the glial environment. Use
of dispersed neuronal cell cultures allows us to address the role of
direct actions of estradiol on neurons while eliminating indirect
actions through the immune system, the vasculature or glia.
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Mechanisms of Estradiol Action
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It has become increasingly clear that estradiol protects the
brain by directly affecting neuronal viability and by acting on other
cell types, such as vascular endothelial cells, astrocytes, and
microglia via traditional and novel, estrogen receptor-dependent and
receptor-independent mechanisms of action. The predominant mechanisms
may depend upon the brain region under investigation, the type of
neural injury or stimulus-induced, and/or the dose of hormone
administered. In general, it appears that physiological levels of
estradiol protect via mechanisms that require pretreatment and involve
estrogen receptors and changes in gene expression. The interactions of
estradiol with its receptors may lead to the expected classic
downstream events: receptor dimerization, receptor binding to estrogen
response elements on DNA, and induction of transcription of target
genes. Alternatively, interactions with receptors may also elicit novel
cross-talk with second messenger molecules that lead to phosphorylation
and activation of key proteins. In contrast, pharmacological levels of
estradiol appear to by-pass estrogen receptors and invoke mechanisms
that involve blood flow, antioxidant actions, and/or nitric oxide (NO)
production. A note of caution should be considered: recent work by
Green et al. (31) shows that the presence of
glutathione in cell cultures dramatically reduces the effective
concentration at which estrogen exerts protective effects in
vitro under circumstances where the receptor is not required.
Thus, under some circumstances, low levels of estradiol may protect via
receptor-independent mechanisms.
Estrogen receptor-dependent neuroprotection
Studies performed both in vivo and in
vitro suggest that physiological concentrations of estradiol
protect through estrogen receptor-dependent mechanisms that lead to
transcription of critical genes that ultimately promote cell survival.
Our laboratory recently discovered that within 24 h of middle
cerebral artery occlusion, ER
messenger RNA (mRNA) is dramatically
up-regulated and that estradiol pretreatment prevents injury-induced
down-regulation of ER
in the cerebral cortex (Fig. 2
). These data suggest that brain injury
may influence responsiveness of the injured cerebral cortex to
estradiol and induce differential actions that are mediated by each
receptor subtype (32, 33). It is important to note that
ER
is only transiently expressed in the cerebral cortex during
neonatal development when this region of the brain undergoes dramatic
neurogenesis, neuritogenesis, and differentiation. Its expression
virtually disappears thereafter. We speculate that the dramatic
up-regulation of ER
in the cerebral cortex may allow a
recapitulation of the developmental actions of estradiol in promoting
neurogenesis and redifferentiation of the cortex. Several studies
support the concept that following stroke injury, specific features of
brain function (e.g. bilateral motor control and the
capacity to reorganize cortical representational maps) revert to those
seen during early stages of development, with the process of recovery
recapitulating ontogeny (reviewed in Ref. 34). Further, we
have recently reported that physiological levels of estradiol do not
protect against ischemic injury in ER
knock-out mice
(35). These data clearly establish that ER
is a
critical mechanistic link that mediates the neuroprotective effects of
physiological levels of estradiol. Using explant cultures of the
neonatal cerebral cortex, we (36) have shown that low
concentrations of estradiol protect against cell death. Our studies
strongly suggest that estrogen receptors are critical because the
protection cannot be achieved using 17
-estradiol and is blocked by
coincubation with ICI 182,780, an estrogen receptor antagonist (Fig. 3
). These findings complement those of
Gollapudi and Oblinger (37, 38) who showed that PC12 cells
transfected with the full-length rat ER
respond to the protective
effects of estradiol, but cells transfected with vector DNA alone are
not protected by estradiol. Further, investigators have found that
neuronal glutamate-induced cell death is blocked by estrogen receptor
antagonists, tamoxifen (39, 40) and ICI 182,780 (36, 41, 42). On the other hand, many in vitro studies
demonstrate that high concentrations of estradiol protect cultured
neurons that do not express estrogen receptors (31, 43).
What genes are influenced by estradiol and how do these
downstream events drive neuroprotection? It is well accepted that
estradiol influences the expression of numerous genes in multiple
regions of the brain, including the hippocampus and cortex, that are
theoretically relevant to estradiols ability to protect. For example,
estradiol affects, in complex ways, the expression of genes that are
involved in the balance of apoptosis and cell survival
(44), mitochondrial function (45), the
function of astrocytes (46, 47), synthesis and secretion
of neurotransmitters that modulate neuronal excitability or
neuron/astrocyte interactions (48, 49), expression of
neurotrophins, growth factors, and their receptors leading to enhanced
neuronal viability (42, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55), and expression of factors
that influence dendritic or axonal elongation and synaptogenesis
(56, 57). In addition, we know that injury induces
alterations in the expression of many of the same or functionally
related genes (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67). Thus, it is tempting to speculate
that estradiol protects through modulation of these genes. However, few
studies (68, 69, 70, 71, 72) have directly tested whether estradiol
influences these factors in the context of injury. In general, these
studies have shown an interaction between injury and the presence of
estradiol that favors the survival of neurons after injury. However, to
date, no studies have established that such alterations are functional
links to estradiols ability to protect against injury-induced cell
death. We have demonstrated that estradiols ability to protect
correlates with differential expression of galanin
(72), bcl-2 (70), c-fos
(71), and ER
and ER
(70) mRNA in the cerebral cortex after ischemic injury and
are beginning to probe the functional roles of these estradiol-mediated
changes in gene expression.
Nonreceptor-mediated protective actions of estradiol
High levels of estradiol increase vasodilation and increase
cerebral blood flow by affecting the microcirculation and vasoactive
substances in the vasculature through estrogen receptor-independent
mechanisms. Estradiol increases cerebral perfusion in some species and
under some conditions (73, 74). However, investigators
have also reported estradiol-induced protection in the absence of
changes in cerebral blood flow (22, 30). Therefore, it is
unclear whether such changes can explain the protective effects of
estradiol or whether they only correlate with protection. Estrogens
inhibit the vasoconstrictor endothelin (75, 76) and
stimulate the vasodilator endothelium-derived relaxing factor (NO)
(77). It appears that estradiol enhances the expression
and activity of two isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS),
endothelial NOS and neuronal NOS (78). Pelligrino and
colleagues (79, 80) reported that transient forebrain
ischemia leads to a greater reduction in cerebral blood flow in
ovariectomized female rats than intact females. Further, they found
that this difference correlated with differences in NOS levels in the
brain.
Estrogens may also protect through receptor-independent mechanisms by
attenuating the formation of free radicals. At high concentrations (in
the µM range in vitro), the phenolic A ring of
estrogenic compounds acts as a highly effective electron donor and free
radical scavenger, preventing the lipid peroxidation-induced membrane
damage (for review see Refs. 16, 43, 81, 82, 83). Several
investigators (84, 85, 86) reported that estradiol reduces
lipid peroxidation in several different neuronal cell systems and that
this correlates with reduced cell death. Further, estradiol attenuates
lipid peroxidation induced by various toxic stimuli, including exposure
to amyloid-
protein or iron sulfate. The doses of estradiol required
for antioxidant activity parallel those required for neuroprotection in
these systems.
Finally, exciting new evidence suggests that estradiol may protect
against injury via receptor-dependent or receptor-independent
mechanisms that involve cross-talk with other second messenger
signaling molecules such as cAMP (87, 88), MAP kinases
(89, 90) or molecules of PI-3K/Akt pathway
(91). These mechanisms may allow estradiol to act rapidly
through phosphorylation and activation of preexisting critical proteins
and/or to act after some delay through phosphorylation-dependent
genomic actions.
In summary, our understanding that estradiol is a complex pleiotropic
hormone that plays important nonreproductive functions in the adult
brain has emerged rapidly. We now appreciate that estradiol appears to
act at two levels: it appears to decrease the risk of disease, and also
to attenuate the extent of injury incurred by suppressing the
neurotoxic stimulus itself or increasing the resilience of the brain to
a given injury. Nonetheless, studies have only begun to decipher and
probe the cellular and molecular bases of the novel actions of
estrogen. As we continue to gain greater insights into the mechanisms
of estradiol-mediated protection, we will be better able to develop
estrogen-like compounds that selectively elicit protective effects for
use as therapeutic agents to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction and
diminish the risk and severity of neurodegenerative diseases and
neurotrauma.
Received October 6, 2000.
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