Estrogenic control of thermoregulation in ERαKO and ERβKO mice

Objective: Estrogen 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: ER alpha and ER beta. 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 results: We 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 ER alpha-knockout (ER alpha KO) or ER beta-knockout (ER beta KO) mice resulted in an increase in TST that could be suppressed by estrogen treatment. Conclusion: We show that mice serve as a suitable animal model for estrogen-controlled thermoregulation and that the expression of either ER alpha or ER beta alone in mice is sufficient to maintain control TST by estrogen. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.